lEx  IGtbrtB 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


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DAUPHIN 


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[  *  BR 

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rtii 


„„„„„„  .        /iatfM  ad  tin*  >: 
J .  B.  UPP1NC0TT  &  CO. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


♦ 


VIEW  OF  THE  CITY  AT  LOGAN  SQUARE. 


PHILADELPHIA,  the  second  city  in  the  Union  in  point  of  population,  and  the  largest  in 
.     area,  was  laid  out  by  William  Penn  in  1682. 

The  site  was  chosen  by  him  because,  as  he  says,  "  It  seemed  appointed  for  a  town,  because 
f  its  coves,  docks,  springs,  and  lofty  land."  The  visitor  now  wonders  where  all  these 
rimeval  advantages  could  have  been. 

The  Indian  name  of  the  place  was  "  Co-a-que-na-que,"  or  "  Coaquanock." 

The  original  town-plot,  as  we  gather  from  history,  was  a  plain,  nearly  level,  and  high 
jnough  to  make  it  dry  and  healthful.  A  few  streams  of  water  crossed  parts  of  it,  and  there 
ere  a  few  hills  and  ravines,  all  of  which  disappeared  long  ago. 

The  original  plan  of  the  city  was  a  parallelogram  two  miles  long,  from  the  Delaware  to  the 
chuylkill,  by  one  mile  wide,  and  contained  nine  streets  running  from  the  Delaware  to  the 
chuylkill,  crossed  by  twenty-one  running  north  and  south.  In  the  centre  was  a  square  of 
:n  acres,  and  in  each  quarter  of  the  city  one  of  eight  acres,  for  public  promenades  and 
:hletic  exercises.  This  plan,  so  far  as  the  arrangement  of  the  streets  is  concerned,  is  still 
ibstantially  adhered  to. 

The  streets  running  east  and  west  were,  with  the  exception  of  High  Street,  named  after 
tffve  trees.  They  were  Vine,  Sassafras,  Mulberry,  High,  Chesnut  (sic),  Walnut,  Spruce, 
me,  and  Cedar.    Of  these,  Sassafras  and  Mulberry  are  now  called  Race  and  Arch,  High  is 

arket,  and  Cedar,  South  Street.    The  streets  intersecting  these  were  numbered  from  each 


a 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


river  to  Broad  Street,  which,  in  the  original  plan,  was  in  the  middle  of  the  plot,  the  western 
series  being  distinguished  by  the  clumsy  affix  of  "Schuylkill,"  as  "Schuylkill  Front," 
"Schuylkill  Second,"  etc.,  until  a  comparatively  recent  period,  when  their  nomenclature  was 
reconstructed  on  more  euphonious  principles. 

The  city  proper  was  confined  within  these  narrow  limits  from  the  date  of  its  incorporation! 
by  Pcnn,  in  1701,  until  1854,  when  the  Legislature,  commiserating  its  overcrowded  condition,-! 
wedged  in,  as  it  was,  among  its  lusty  children,  Kensington,  Germantown,  Northern  Liberties, 
West  Philadelphia,  Southwark,  and  the  rest,— took  them  all  in  at  one  grasp,  and  incorporated- 
the  whole  County  of  Philadelphia, — a  territory  twenty-three  miles  long  and  averaging  five  and 
a  half  broad,  having  an  area  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  and  one-eighth  square  miles. 
The  city  has  now  plenty  of  elbow-room,  and  permission  to  grow  as  fast  and  as  large  as  it 


MADISON  SQUARE. 


pleases ;  a  privilege  of  which  it  is  not  slow  to  take  advantage,  as  the  hundreds  of  building- 
permits  issued  monthly,  and  the  solid  squares  of  dwellings  rising  simultaneously  from  the 
ground  on  all  the  outskirts,  bear  ample  testimony. 

The  original  city,  with  its  crowded  buildings  and  noisy  streets,  is  fast  yielding  to  the  demands 
of  commerce.  The  vicinity  of  the  spot  where  it  was  begun, — Front  Street,  from  Walnut  to 
Arch, — though  bustling  and  noisy  enough  during  business  hours,  is  a  perfect  desolation  after 
six  o'clock,  and  the  thousands  who  throng  there  all  day  long  are  miles  away,  resting,  most  of 
them,  in  comfortable  homes,  with  plenty  of  living-room  about  them.  There  is  no  swarming 
in  tenement  houses,  whole  villages  under  one  roof,  and  large  families  in  one  room,  as  in 
New  York. 

The  advancing  tide  of  commerce  and  trade,  ever  surging  westward  from  the  Delaware,  has 
already  swept  over  Broad  Street  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  driving  the  dwellings  of  the  people 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


3 


before  it.  Market  Street  is  lined  with  shops  and  warehouses  from  river  to  river ;  Chestnut  is 
invaded  as  far  as  Fifteenth  Street,  and  Arch  beyond  Tenth;  while  north  and  south  traffic 
extends,  on  certain  streets,  to  the  limits  of  the  built-up  city. 

This  disposition  to  give  her  citizens  comfortable  homes  is  Philadelphia's  greatest  pride  and 
glory.  With  a  population  less  than  that  of  New  York,  she  has  sixty  thousand  more  houses. 
iThe  poorest  of  the  poor  are  scarcely  compelled  to  live  in  quarters  too  small  for  them,  and 
every  mechanic  can  have  a  house  to  himself  on  payment  of  a  moderate  rental. 

Madison  Square  and  St.  Alban's  Place,  on  Gray's  Ferry  Road,  are  instances  of  what  can  be 
done  toward  providing  tasteful  homes  for  the  people.  In  each,  two  rows  of  houses,  moderate 
in  size,  but  built  with  an  eye  to  substantial  comfort,  face  each  other  across  a  wide  street,  down 
the  middle  of  which  stretches  a  miniature  park. 

Philadelphia  now  has,  in  round  numbers,  a  population  of  eight  hundred  thousand,  living  in 


VIEW  OF  FOUNTAIN  IN  FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 


ne  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dwellings.    It  has  one  thousand  miles  of  streets  and  roads, 
lore  than  half  of  which  are  paved,  and  beneath  them  run  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  of 
iwers,  over  six  hundred  miles  of  gas  mains,  and  nearly  as  many  of  water-pipes.    It  has  two 
undred  and  twenty  miles  of  street  railways,  running  two  thousand  passenger  cars ;  and  four  hun- 
red  public  schools,  with  over  sixteen  hundred  teachers  and  more  than  eighty  thousand  pupils. 
But,  as  we  have  remarked  above,  the  plan  of  the  city,  as  it  existed  in  the  mind  of  its  founder, 
mtemplated  an  abundance  of  room;  and  this  is  the  legitimate  outgrowth  of  Penn's  idea, 
hich  has  never  been  permitted  to  die  out  entirely.    His  magnificent  Centre  Square  shrank, 
deed,  to  the  comparatively  diminutive  Penn  Squares,  and  even  these  have  now  been  oblit- 
ated  by  the  splendid  municipal  buildings  at  the  intersection  of  Broad  and  Market  Streets ;  but 
ese  same  Broad  and  Market  Streets  retain  their  pristine  width  ;  the  former  of  one  hundred 
id  thirteen  feet,  the  latter  of  one  hundred.    The  four  squares  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  city 
e  still  in  existence,  and,  though  long  condemned  to  obscurity  and  neglect,  they  are  now 
stored,  and  fulfilling  their  intended  mission  as  "the  lungs  of  the  city." 

Washington  Square  is  at  Sixth  and  Walnut  Streets ;  close  beside  what  was  once  the  State- 
ouse  Yard,  now  called  Independence  Square,  in  grateful  remembrance  that  in  it  liberty  was 
st  proclaimed  to  the  people. 


J'lIII.ADI.I.PII/A  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


Washington  Square  was  once  a  "  Potter's  field."  Many  soldiers,  victims  of  the  smallpox 
and  camp  fever,  were  buried  here  during  the  Revolution.  The  ground  under  the  waving  trees 
and  springing  grass,  where  the  birds  sing  and  the  children  play,  is  literally  "full  of  dead  men's 
bones,"  but  the  grass  is  no  less  green,  the  sunshine  no  less  bright,  on  that  account,  and  the 
dead  sleep  none  the  less  peacefully,  for  the  life  above  them. 

"  The  knights'  bones  are  dust, 
And  their  swords  are  rust, 
Their  souls  are  with  the  saints,  we  trust." 

At  Eighteenth  and  Walnut  Streets  is  Rittenhouse  Square,  and  at  Eighteenth  and  Race  is 
Logan  Square,  the  site  of  the  great  Sanitary  Fair  in  1864,  when  the  entire  square  was  roofed 
over  and  boarded  up,  the  trunks  of  the  trees  standing  as  pillars  in  the  aisles  of  the  huge 
building,  and  their  branches  waving  far  above  the  roof. 

Franklin  Square,  at  Sixth  and  Race,  also  long  used  as  a  burying-ground,  completes  the 
original  number,  and  is  rendered  more  attractive  than  the  others  by  a  large  fountain,  which 
plays  daily  during  the  summer. 

These,  with  the  addition  of  Independence  Square,  the  comparatively  new  Norris  Square,  in 
Kensington,  and  Jefferson  Square,  at  Third  and  Washington  Avenue,  are  the  most  impor- 
tant in  the  city;  but  there  are  about  half  a  dozen  smaller  ones  in  different  sections,  and  we 
must  devote  a  separate  chapter  to  that  grand  breathing-place,  Fairmount  Park, — a  resort 
unsurpassed  in  America. 

Penn  first  set  foot  on  the  site  of  his  future  city  at  the  "Blue  Anchor  Landing,"  at  the  mouth 

of  Dock  Creek,  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  what  is  now  the 
corner  of  Front  and  Dock 
Streets;  where  stood  the 
"  Blue  Anchor  Tavern," — 
the  first  house  built  within 
the  ancient  limits  of  the 
city.  Then,  and  long  after- 
wards, Dock  Creek  was  a 
considerable  stream;  Penn 
counted  on  it  to  furnish  a 
natural  canal  to  the  heart 
of  the  town,  and  it  was  used 
for  that  purpose  at  first, 
but  the  water  became  so 
offensive,  and  the  mud  and 
washings  of  the  city,  which  the  current  was  too  sluggish  to  remove,  filled  it  up  so  rapidly,  that 
it  was  finally  arched  over,  and  wagons  now  run  where  boats  formerly  floated,  and  the  visitor 
to  the  venerable  Girard  Bank,  on  Third  Street,  below  Chestnut,  sees  little  to  remind  him  that 
on  the  site  of  this  stately  pile  a  sloop,  "loaded  with  rum  from  Barbadoes,"  once  lay  and 
discharged  her  cargo.  And  this  explains  the  anomaly  of  the  winding  Dock  Street  in  the 
midst  of  the  primly-drawn  right  lines  of  the  ancient  town  :  the  street  was  constructed  over  a 
winding  creek. 

The  Blue  Anchor  Tavern  was  the  beginning  of  Philadelphia,  but  other  houses  were  in 
progress  before  it  was  finished ;  Front  Street  was  soon  opened,  and  building  followed  its  line. 
The  first  winter  was  passed  by  many  of  the  inhabitants  in  caves  dug  in  the  river-bank,  they 
having  no  time  to  build  houses  before  the  coming  of  cold  weather.  Log  houses,  however, 
soon  became  numerous  enough  to  shelter  all  the  people  ;  and  the  growth  of  the  city,  beginning 
thus  on  the  Delaware,  pushed  gradually  north,  south,  and  west,  until  it  became  what  we  now 
see  it.  Dock  Creek,  as  we  have  seen,  was  obliterated.  "  Society  Hill,"  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Front  and  Pine,  where  Alderman  Plumstead  had  his  hanging-garden,  and  Whitefield,  at  a 


PHILADELPHIA  AS  PENN  FIRST  SAW  IT.    THE  BLUE  ANCHOR  LANDING. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


5 


later  day,  preached  to  fifteen  thousand  people,  was  razed,  as  was  also  the  high  bluff  on  the 
Delaware  bank  which  Penn  was  so  anxious  to  preserve  as  a  public  promenade  forever, 
ordering  that  no  houses  should  be  built  east  of  Front  Street.  All  that  remains  of  the  bluff 
is  an  occasional  flight  of  stairs  leading  up  from  Water  to  Front  Street.  Arch  Street  was  sunk 
so  low  in  a  ravine  that  Front  Street  crossed  it  by  an  arched  bridge,  whence  it  derived  its 
name  ;  but  bridge  and  ravine  are  both  gone  now.  So  is  the  Duck  Pond  at  Fourth  and 
Market,  into  which  the  tide  flowed,  and  in  which  boys  caught  fish  that  had  found  their  way 
there  from  the  Delaware;  and  so  is  Pegg's  Run,  once  a  considerable  stream  running  from  a 
spring  in  Spring  Garden  Street,  near  Sixth  (whence  the  name  of  the  former),  through  a  marsh; 
to  its  junction  with  the  Delaware,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Noble  Street.  All  these  were  once 
landmarks,  but  the  present  generation  scarcely  knows  their  names. 


THE  STREETS. 

Philadelphia  grew  too  fast  and  in  too  many  directions  at  once,  to  permit  either  its  business 
or  its  objects  of  interest  to  be  collected  in  one  quarter,  or  to  follow  a  uniform  line  of  position. 
The  stranger  visiting  the  city  cannot  walk  up  town,  guide-book  in  hand,  and  see  all  that  is  to 
be  seen,  in  a  morning  walk ;  nor  can  we  direct  him  how  to  gather  all  the  attractive  points  in 
a  single  route.  The  best  we  can  do  is  to  give  him  an  idea  of  the  arrangements  of  the  streets, 
and  tell  him  where  the  points  he  will  probably  wish  to  see  are  located.  Our  map  will  then 
enable  him  to  find  them  easily. 

All  the  streets  running  north  and  south  are  numbered  from  a  base-line  which  is  best 
described  by  saying  that  it  is  one  square  east  of  Front  Street.  In  the  original  city,  this  is  the 
Delaware ;  but  the  stream  curves  both  above  and  below  these  limits,  and  so  streets  east  of  that 
line  are  found  in  Kensington,  Richmond,  Southwark,  and  other  parts  of  the  present  city. 

The  houses  are  numbered  alternately, — even  numbers  on  the  south  side  of  the  street,  odd 
numbers  on  the  north.  Front  Street  being  No.  i,  the  house  next  west  of  it  is  No.  100.  At 
Second  Street,  though  the  first  loo  is  not  exhausted,  a  second  series  begins  ;  and  in  this  way 
one  can  always  tell  between  what  north-and-south-running  streets  he  is.  If  the  number  of  the 
nearest  house  is  836,  for  instance,  he  knows  that  Eighth  Street  is  east  of  him,  and  that  the  next 
street  west  is  Ninth. 

The  regular  succession  of  the  numbered  streets  is  interfered  with  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Schuylkill  by  the  winding  course  of  that  stream,  which  at  Market  Street  causes  a  hiatus  from 
Twenty -third  to  Thirtieth  Streets.  As,  however,  Thirtieth  Street  follows  the  western  bank  of 
the  river,  it  forms  a  convenient  means  of  distinguishing  the  location  of  a  given  address,  as 
everything  west  of  Thirtieth  Street  (and  consequently,  all  houses  numbered  over  3000,  in  this 
direction)  must  be  in  West  Philadelphia. 

Some  unimportant  exceptions  to  the  rule  just  stated  may  be  noticed  in  the  way  of  na,7ned 
streets  running  north  and  south ;  but  there  are  few  ;  and  being,  with  the  exception  of  Franklin 
Street,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  others,  little  better  than  alleys,  they  are  not  likely  to  mislead 
the  visitor.  But  there  are  no  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  all  streets  running  east  and  luest  have 
names,  instead  of  numbers. 

Market  Street  is  always  considered  as  a  point  of  departure  in  reckoning  these  streets.  It  is, 
indeed,  the  base-line  of  the  city.  From  it  the  houses  are  numbered  north  and  south,  and  it  is 
the  grand  business-centre, — the  great  artery,  lying  in  the  middle  of  the  body  corporate,  and 
sending  its  streams  of  human  and  commercial  life  to  all  parts,  not  only  of  the  metropolis,  but 
of  the  State.  This  was  the  "  High  Street"  of  Penn  and  his  successors,  and  its  magnificent 
width  was  first  made  available  to  accommodate  a  line  of  market-houses  which  the  founders 
of  the  place  early  provided  for.    The  encroachments  of  commerce  swept  these  out  of 


6 


existence  long  ago,  but  not  until  they  had  given  the  street  its  new  name.  It  is  one  hundred 
feet  wide,  and,  like  Broad,  runs  in  a  perfectly  straight  line  from  one  side  of  the  city  to  the 
other. 

As  in  the  streets  running  east  and  west,  so  in  those  running  north  and  south,  the  houses  are 
numbered  alternately, even  numbers  on  the  west,  odd  numbers  on  the  east;  and  certain  streets 
are  designated  as  boundaries  of  the  hundreds;  for,  when  the  city  came  to  be  closely  built  up, 


VIEW  ON  MARKET  STREET. 


it  was  found  that  Penn's  magnificent  plan  was  on  too  grand  a  scale  for  practical  purposes,  and 
what  might  be  termed  intercalary  streets  had  to  be  introduced.  Another  reason  for  these 
intermediate  streets  is  that,  as  the  city  grew  beyond  its  pristine  limits,  it  became  necessary  to 
deflect  the  streets  from  a  right  line  in  order  to  accommodate  them  to  the  ground  to  be  covered, 
as  its  shape  was  determined  by  the  curving  banks  of  the  two  rivers ;  and  still  another  reason 
may  be  found  in  the  failure  of  those  who  laid  out  the  suburbs  before  mentioned  to  foresee  the 
day  when  their  infant  colonies  would  be  swallowed  up  by  the  young  giant  in  their  midst. 
They  never  expected  them  to  be  made  part  of  Philadelphia,  and  saw  no  reason  why  their 
streets  should  conform  to  others  just  starting  two  or  three  miles  away. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


7 


After  all,  though,  the  streets  forming  the  "even  hundreds"  are,  with  few  exceptions,  the 
principal  ones,  and  are  easily  recognized,  even  without  the  assistance  of  the  lists  which  may 
be  obtained  at  any  hotel. 

A  few  notable  exceptions  to  the  rectangular  plan  of  the  streets  stretch  away  from  the 
original  town-plot,  crossing  lots  as  recklessly  as  if  made  by  schoolboys  impatiently  taking  the 
nearest  way  to  chestnut-grove  or  huckleberry-patch,  in  the  far-away  past,  and  leading  to  the 
very  confines  of  the  city.  These  are  the  remains  of  highways  built  to  connect  Philadelphia 
with  the  outlying  towns  around  her.  They  were  formerly  called  roads ;  and  even  now,  though 
polite  usage  styles  them  "avenues,"  the  homely  phrase  of  the  common  folk  clings  to  the  old 
title,  and  it  will  be  long  before  "  Ridge  Avenue"  will  be  as  familiar  to  the  genuine  Philadelphian 
as  the  "  Ridge  Road"  of  his  boyhood.  There  is  a  local  pride  in  keeping  up  the  old  names, — 
a  certain  home  feeling,  a  familiarity  born  of  old  associations,  which  one  does  not  willingly 
surrender.  "Ridge  Avenue"  has  a  grandiloquent  sound,  well  calculated  to  tickle  the  ears 
of  "outside  barbarians,"  and  quite  good  enough  for  them;  but  what  do  they  know  about 
"  Ridge  Road"  ?  "  Ridge  Avenue"  leads  to  Manayunk  and  the  valley  of  the  Schuylkill,  but 
"Ridge  Road,"  or  its  still  dearer  form,  "the  Ridge,"  leads  back  into  the  recesses  of  every 
true  Philadelphian's  memory.    Think  you  he  will  easily  vacate  this  highway  to  the  past? 

Another  of  these  historic  avenues  leads  to  Germantown ;  one  goes  to  Frankford;  another  to 
Darby;  Passyunk  Avenue  starts  from  South  below  Fifth,  and  runs  southwest  to  Point  Breeze; 
while  others,  again,  are  to  be  found  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  running  in  all  imaginable 
directions,  as  they  were  located  by  and  for  the  public  convenience. 


RELICS    OF   THE  PAST. 

Philadelphia  might  with  propriety  be  termed  the  Historical  City  of  the  Union,  as  it  contains 
more  souvenirs  of  our  early  history  than  any  other.  The  oldest  of  these  relics  of  antiquity, 
or  what  passes  for  antiquity  in  this  emphatically  New  World,  is  the  Old  Swedes'  Church,  in 
Southwark,  the  ancient  Wicaco. 

This  venerable  edifice  was  built  in  1700,  to  take  the  place  of  a  log  structure  which  was  erected 
in  1677  and  served  equally  well  for  church  or  fort,  as  the  exigencies  of  those  somewhat 
uncertain  times  might  demand.  The  present  church  is  of  brick,  and  is  still  regularly  used. 
It  stands  in  a  cemetery  where  gravestones  of  all  dates,  from  1700,  and  the  years  immediately 
following,  down  to  yesterday,  may  be  seen  ;  though  most  of  the  oldest  stones  are  so  weather- 
worn that  their  inscriptions  are  partially  or  completely  illegible.  The  building  stands  on 
Swanson  Street,  below  Christian,  but  looks  toward  Otsego  Street,  from  which  it  is  reached 
by  passing  through  the  cemetery.  Visitors  can  take  Second  and  Third  Street  cars  to 
Christian. 

Another  relic,  whose  genuineness  is  established  by  Watson  in  his  "Annals,"  is  Penn's 
cottage  in  Letitia  Street,  a  small  street  running  from  Market  to  Chestnut,  between  Front  and 
Second.  This  house  was  built  for  Penn's  use,  probably  before  his  arrival  in  the  settlement, 
and  has,  curiously  enough,  withstood  the  march  of  improvement  which  has  swept  away  many 
more  pretentious  structures.  It  is  a  little  two-story  brick  house,  on  the  west  side  of  the  street, 
a  few  doors  south  of  Market. 

A  few  steps  from  this,  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Front  and  Market  Streets,  is  a  small  brick 
house,  whose  unique  appearance  attracts  one's  attention  even  before  he  knows  that  there  is 
anything  remarkable  about  it.  It  is  now  used  as  a  tobacco-store ;  but  a  hundred  years  ago  it 
was  the  celebrated  "  London  Coffee-House,"  where  all  the  dignitaries  of  the  city  were  accus- 
tomed to  meet  and — oh,  primeval  simplicity ! — fill  the  exhilarating  cup,  and  pledge  each  other 


8 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


in — piping  hot  coffee.  No  stronger  drink  was  sold  there.  The  house  was  built  in  1702,  and 
was  used  as  a  dwelling-house  for  the  first  fifty  years  of  its  existence. 

No.  239  Arch  Street,  though  a  more  modern  building,  is  also  noticeable  as  the  place  where 
the  first  American  flag  was  made. 

On  Second  Street,  north  of  Market,  stands  Christ  Church,  on  the  site  of  the  first  church 
erected  by  the  followers  of  Penn.  Tradition  says  that  the  frame  church  built  by  them  in  1695 
was  used  as  a  place  of  worship  until  the  walls  of  the  new  building  inclosed  it  and  were  roofed 
over,  when  the  old  church  was  taken  down  and  carried  out  piecemeal.  The  present  edifice 
was  begun  in  1727,  and  finished  by  the  raising  of  the  steeple  in  1753-4.  It  is  a  solemn  old 
place, — just  the  spot  for  one  to  think  in  and  recall  the  many  associations  connected  with  it. 
The  noisy  street  in  front  was  quiet  enough  when  the  builders  of  this  church  walked  solemnly 
to  meeting  on  the  Sabbath.  It  was  grand  enough,  too,  when  Washington's  gorgeous  chariot, 
drawn  by  four  elegant  long-tailed  bays,  drew  up  before  the  church,  and  its  stately  master  stepped 
inside  through  a  waiting  crowd  of  his  admiring  countrymen.  The  marble  slabs  in  the  yard 
have  been  worn  smooth  by  the  feet  of  those  whom  our  country  delights  to  honor.  In  the  aisles 
arc  buried  John  Penn,  Dr.  Richard  Peters,  Robert  Asheton,  and  many  others,  great  men  in 
their  day,  but  all  forgotten  now.  The  bells  in  this  high  tower  arc  said  to  be  the  oldest  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic, — certainly  the  oldest  chime.  They  joined  in  the  pa?an  with  which  the 
State-House  bell  announced  the  birth  of  Liberty,  and  fled,  like  many  of  the  congregation  that 
worshiped  below  them,  when  it  became  evident  that  the  city  could  not  hold  out  against  the 
enemy;  but,  like  the  congregation,  they  returned  when  the  enemy  was  gone,  and  were  not  a 
whit  disheartened  by  their  exile. 

These  bells,  eight  in  number,  were  cast  in  London.  Their  leader,  the  tenor,  says,  "  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia,  1754.  Thomas  Lester  and  Thomas  Peck,  of  London,  made  us  all." 
They  were  brought  over,  free  of  charge,  by  Captain  Budden.in  the  ship  "  Myrtilla,"  and  never 
failed  thereafter  to  ring  a  joyous  welcome  whenever  the  captain's  ship  was  seen  coming  up  the 
river.  One  was  cracked  about  1834-5  and  returned  to  its  birthplace,  White  Chapel  Bell 
Foundry,  where  Thomas  Mears,  the  successor  of  Messrs.  Lester  and  Peck,  recast  it  and  sent 
it  back  with  an  appropriate  inscription.    A  tablet  in  the  ringers'  room  records  the  fact  that 

On  Sunday,  June  9,  1850,  was  rung  in  this  Steeple  Mr.  Holt's  celebrated  ten-part  peal  of  Grandsire  triples, 
consisting  of  5040  changes,  in  3  hours  and  15  minutes,  by  [eight  performers],  being  the  first  peal  of  change- 
ringing  ever  performed  in  the  United  States. 

The  massive  timbers  which  uphold  these  bells  are  as  sound  as  when  put  in,  a  century  ago, 
and  look  as  if  they  were  good  for  another  century,  at  least. 

The  steeple  of  this  church  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  feet  in  height,  and  the  view  from 
the  outlook,  which  is  probably  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the  ground,  is  beautiful  enough 
to  repay  visitors  for  all  the  risk  they  run  of  cracked  crowns  and  broken  necks  in  ascending 
the  dark  and  tortuous  stairs.  The  Delaware,  with  its  puffing  steamers  and  white-sailed  ships, 
lies  almost  at  the  feet  of  the  spectator,  and  is  spread  like  a  panorama  for  miles  and  miles. 
Away  to  the  south  a  gleaming  line  indicates  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers,  at  League  Island. 
Nearer  the  eye,  the  masts  of  Uncle  Sam's  big  ships  at  the  Navy  Yard  are  displayed;  ferry-boats 
steam  steadily  across  the  river  ;  and  restless  tugs  ply  up  and  down,  convoying  vessels  a  dozen 
times  their  size,  or  dash  about  in  search  of  a  tow;  all  the  wharves  are  crowded  with  vessels  of 
all  sizes,  from  the  great  ocean  steamer  to  the  diminutive  "  tub,"  and  all  the  river  is  white  with 
arriving  and  departing  sails.  Smith's  and  Windmill  Islands  lie  in  midstream  almost  opposite, 
and  Petty's  Island  lies  a  short  distance  above.  Near  it  a  cloud  of  dust  and  a  forest  of  masts 
mark  the  great  coal-shipping  port  of  the  Reading  Railroad,  at  Richmond ;  and  beyond  the 
river  ripples  and  sparkles  until  lost  in  the  hazy  distance. 

Across  the  river  are  Camden  and  Gloucester,  and  behind  them  the  level  sands  of  New  Jersey 
stretch  away,  so  flat  and  unbroken  by  anything  that  would  obstruct  the  vision  that  it  requires 


9 


no  great  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  believe  that  with  a  glass  of  moderate  power  one  might 
see  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic,  sixty  miles  away  as  the  crow  flies. 


VIEW  LOOKING  UP  THE  DELAWARE  RIVER. 

Inland,  the  eye  ranges  over  the  entire  city,  from 
League  Island  on  the  south,  to  and  beyond  German- 
town,  on  the  north,  and  from  the  Delaware  to  points  far 
west  of  the  Schuylkill.  Second  Street,  the  longest 
built-up  street  in  the  city,  runs  straight  as  an  arrow 
to  the  northward,  until  its  course  is  lost  among  the 
trees  in  the  suburbs.  Dozens  of  church  spires  rise  into  the  air,  the  tall  white  stand-pipe  of  the 
Kensington  Water-works  standing  conspicuous  among  them  on  the  Delaware  side  of  the  city, 
matched  by  that  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Ward  Works  on  the  west  side  of  the  Schuylkill.  To 
the  northwest,  Girard  College  stands  boldly  out ;  the  Moorish  dome  of  the  Broad  Street  Jewish 
Synagogue  rises  south  of  it;  and  almost  due  west  of  the  spectator  the  massive  bulk  of  the 
Masonic  Temple,  and  the  graceful  spires,  brown  and  white,  of  the  churches  at  Broad  and  Arch, 
mark  the  spot  which  is  destined  to  contain,  in  the  near  future,  a  collection  of  architectural 
triumphs  unrivaled  in  the  city.  Bits  of  green,  set  here  and  there  among  the  crowding  houses, 
indicate  the  public  squares ;  and  beyond  all  the  eye  rests  delighted  on  the  leafy  richness  of 
Fairmount  Park  and  of  the  open  country  in  the  suburbs. 

Nor  must  we  overlook  a  small  street  opening  into  Second  Street,  directly  opposite  the  church, 
and  a  tall  block  of  warehouses  closing  up  its  eastern  end  ;  for  these  were  Stephen  Girard' s  stores 
and  houses,  and  all  the  land  about  them  belonged  to  him. 

Christ  Church  belongs  to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  denomination.  Two  services  are  held  in 
it  on  Sunday,  and  it  is  open  for  prayers  on  Wednesday  and  Friday  at  n  A.M.,  at  which  times 
it  may  be  visited. 

The  great  elm-tree  under  which  William  Penn  made  his  famous  treaty  with  the  Indians  was 
at  Shackamaxon  (now  Kensington),— a  name  still  preserved  in  the  nomenclature  of  the  streets 
in  that  vicinity.    The  silent  witness  of  "the  only  treaty  ever  ratified  without  an  oath,  and  the 


IO 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


only  one  never  broken,"  stood  for  more  than  a  century.  It  was  a  favorite  resort  in  summer 
time  ;  the  citizens  sat  under  its  branches,  and  whole  congregations  worshiped  in  its  shade ; 
but  in  1810  it  was  blown  down,  and  nothing  now  remains  to  mark  the  place  where  it  stood  but 
an  insignificant  monument,  which  none  but  a  sharp  eye  can  discover.    It  stands  on  the  east 

side  of  Beach  Street,  a  few  steps  north  of  Hanover 
(which  is  marked  Columbia  Street  on  most  maps). 
The  visitor  who  has  imbibed  the  popular  fallacy  that 
the  streets  of  Philadelphia  are  straight,  and  cross  each 
other  at  right  angles,  has  only  to  visit  Kensington  to 
be  thoroughly  and  permanently  cured  of  that  idea. 
If  he  can  make  his  way,  unassisted,  from  any  business 
centre  to  the  site  of  the  famous  Treaty  Tree,  without 
becoming  hopelessly  bewildered,  he  will  do  for  a  back- 
woodsman. All  others  should  take  the  Second  and 
Third  Street  cars  to  Hanover  Street.  They  will  then 
have  but  one  square  to  walk. 

The  stone,  which  is  not  noticeable  from  across  the 
street,  stands  in  an  inclosure  just  large  enough  to  hold 
it,  in  the  midst  of  stone  and  lumber  yards,  and  in  the 
shade  of  a  tall  elm  which  may  possibly  be  a  lineal 
THE  penn  treaty  monument.         descendant  of  the  one  whose  site  it  shades. 

An  interesting  relic  of  our  early  history,  and  one 
whose  disappearance  every  true  Philadelphia!!  must  regret,  was  Penn's  Mansion,  the  'Old 
Slate-Roof  House," — so  called  because  at  the  time  it  was  built  it  was  the  only  structure  covered 
with  that  material  in  the  city.  This  house,  which  stood  on  Second  Street,  below  Chestnut,  was 
built  by  Samuel  Carpenter  at  a  very  early  date,  and  was  used  as  a  residence  by  Penn  on  the 
occasion  of  his  second  visit  to  this  country,  in  1700,  at  which  time  he  brought  his  family  with 

1 


the  old  slate-roof  house. 


him.  Here  John  Penn,  the  only  member  of  the  family  born  on  American  soil,  and  called  for 
that  reason  "the  American,"  was  born,  one  month  after  the  arrival  of  the  family.  Here  Gov- 
ernor Lloyd,  one  of  Penn's  companions,  a  descendant — according  to  tradition — of  Meric,  who 
bore  one  of  the  four  golden  shields  before  Arthur  when  he  was  crowned  king  at  Caerleon,  him- 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


ii 


self  the  heir  to  great  estates,  and  an  early  deputy-governor  of  Pennsylvania,  was  a  frequent 
visitor.  Here  Isaac  Norris,  the  first  of  a  still  honorable  house,  and  Isaac  his  son  and  successor 
in  the  Speakership  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  were  frequent  guests.  Here,  in  later  times, 
General  Forbes,  Braddock's  successor,  died;  and  still  later,  General  Harry  Lee  was  also  buried 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL. 


from  the  house,  while  Washington,  Hancock,  Reed,  Dickinson,  the  elder  Adams,  and  their 
contemporaries  often  honored  the  old  mansion  by  their  presence. 

Afterwards  its  glory  departed.  It  sank  lower  and  lower  in  the  scale  of  respectability,  until 
at  last,  having  become  a  mere  shell  and  hollow  mockery  of  its  former  greatness,  it  was  torn 


12 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


down,  in  1867,  to  make  room  for  the  splendid  building  of  the  Commercial  Exchange,  which 
stands  on  its  site. 

On  the  south  side  of  Chestnut  Street,  about  midway  between  Third  and  Fourth  Streets,  an 
iron  railing  guards  the  passage-way  to  a  building  which  deserves  more  than  any  other  the 
proud  title  of  the  cradle  of  American  Independence.    It  is  Carpenters'  Hall,  the  place  where, 


as  an  inscription  on  the  wall  proudly  testifies,  "  Henry,  Hancock,  and  Adams  inspired  the 
Delegates  of  the  Colonies  with  Nerve  and  Sinew  for  the  Toils  of  War;"  the  place  where  the 
first  Continental  Congress  met,  and  where  the  famous  "  first  prayer  in  Congress"  was  delivered 
by  Parson  Duche  on  the  morning  after  the  news  of  the  bombardment  of  Boston  had  been 
received,  and  men  knew  that  the  war  was  indeed  "  inevitable." 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


CARPENTERS  HALL. 


Here  the  first  Provincial  Assembly  held  its  sittings,  to  be  succeeded  by  the  British  troops,  and 
afterwards  by  the  first  United  States  Bank,  and  still  later  by  the  Bank  of  Pennsylvania. 

Built  in  1770,  Carpenters'  Hall  was  at  first  intended 
only  for  the  uses  of  the  Society  of  Carpenters,  by  whom 
it  was  founded.  Its  central  location,  however,  caused 
it  to  be  used  for  the  meetings  of  delegates  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  and  for  other  public  purposes;  and 
when  no  longer  needed  for  these,  it  passed  from  tenant 
to  tenant,  until  it  degenerated  into  an  auction-room. 
Then  the  Company  of  Carpenters,  taking  patriotic 
counsel,  resumed  control  of  it,  fitted  it  up  to  represent 
as  nearly  as  might  be  its  appearance  in  Revolutionary 
days,  and  now  keeps  it  as  a  sacred  relic.  The  walls 
are  hung  with  interesting  mementos  of  the  times  that 
tried  men's  souls.  The  door  is  always  open  to  the 
patriotic  visitor. 

Little  need  be  said  of  Independence  Hall,  for  it  is 
known  wherever  America  herself  is  known,  and  its 
history  is  a  familiar  one  to  every  schoolboy.  Com- 
menced in  1729,  and  completed  in  1735,  tne  State-House  is  most  intimately  associated  in  the 
American  mind  with  the  date  1776.  In  the  east  room  of  the  main  building  (Independence 
Hall  proper)  the  second  Continental  Congress  met,  and  there,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted,  and  from  the  steps  leading  into  Independence 
Square,  then  the  State-House  Yard,  it  was  read  to  the  multitude  assembled  by  the  joyful  pealing 
of  the  bell  overhead, — the  same  bell  which  now,  cracked  and  useless,  but  with  its  grand, 
prophetic  motto  still  intact,  rests  in  state 
in  the  entrance  hall.  And  in  Congress 
Hall,  in  the  second-  story,  Washington 
delivered  his  farewell  address. 

Independence  Hall  is  preserved  as  be- 
fits the  glorious  deed  that  was  done  in  it. 
The  furniture  is  the  same  as  that  used 
by  Congress  ;  portraits  of  our  country's 
heroes  crowd  the  walls,  and  relics  of  our 
early  history  are  everywhere.  The  build- 
ing stands  on  the  south  side  of  Chestnut 
Street,  between  Fifth  and  Sixth.  The 
three  isolated  buildings  which  stood  here 
in  1776  are  now  connected,  others  having 
been  built  in  the  spaces  between  them, 
and  the  entire  square  is  now  used  for 
court-rooms  and  offices  connected  with 
them,  and  has  a  local  reputation  as 
"  State-House  Row.' 

Visitors  are  admitted  to  Independence 
Hall  between  8  a.m.  and  10  p.m.  daily. 
An  interesting  museum  of  articles  con- 
nected with  American  history  has  also  franklin's  grave. 
been  established  here,  which  contains  much  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  patriotic  visitor. 

The  wide  sidewalk  in  front  of  State-House  Row  is  paved  with  slate,  which  forms  an  admirable 
pavement,  and  is  ornamented  with  trees.  Two  drinking-fountai'ns  represent  one  of  Philadel- 
phia's noblest  charities,  and  a  statue  of  Washington  guards  the  place  whose  memory  is  so 
inseparably  linked  with  his  own. 


14 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LPS  ENVLRONS. 


Still  another  memento  connected  with  the  Declaration  of  Independence  exists.  It  is,  or,  rather, 
was,  "  Hiltzheimer's  New  House,"  once  Jefferson's  boarding-house,  and  the  place  where  he 
wrote  the  immortal  Declaration.  It  is  a  plain,  three-story  brick  building,  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  Seventh  and  Market  Streets.  The  lower  floor  is  now  a  clothing  depot,  and  the  upper 
ones  are  used  for  various  business  purposes. 

Another  shrine  which  the  patriotic  pilgrim  will  not  fail  to  visit  is  Franklin's  grave.  It  is  in 
the  graveyard  of  Christ  Church,  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Arch.  A  section  of  iron  railing  in 
the  brick  wall  on  Arch  Street  permits  the  visitor  to  look  upon  the  plain  slab  which,  in  accord- 
ance with  Franklin's  wishes,  covers  all  that  remains  of  the  philosopher-statesman  and  his  wife. 

MARKET  STREET. 

Market  Street,  from  river  to  river,  is  the  grand  entrepot  of  inland  and  foreign  commerce. 
Its  magnificent  width  affords  ample  room  and  great  facilities  for  the  moving  of  heavy  goods ; 


VIEW  ON  MARKET  STREET. — J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  &  CO.'S  PUBLISHING  HOUSE. 


railway  tracks  are  laid  down'in  it,  running  directly  into  numerous  depots  and  warehouses,  and 
whole  cargoes  of  merchandise  are  thus  daily  sent  from  the  warehouse  direct  to  distant  points. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


1.5 


A  walk  along  this  street  shows  many  fine  buildings,  but  few  of  special  note.  We  have 
already  alluded  to  the  Old  London  Coffee-House,  on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Market ;  to  Penn's 
House,  in  Letitia  Street,  and  to  Christ  Church,  in  Second  Street,  above  Market. 

Second  Street  presents  in  itself  a  peculiar  feature  of  the  city,  which  the  visitor  should  not 
fail  to  see.  It  is  to  Philadelphia  what  the  Bowery  is  to  New  York.  Of  great  length,  and 
running  in  an  almost  undeviatingly  straight  line  from  the  northern  to  the  southern  portions  of 
the  city,  it  is  lined  with  miles  of  retail  stores  of  the  humbler  class,  placed  with  a  most  supreme 
disregard  for  the  fitness  of  things.  Hardware,  clothing,  grocery,  confectionery,  dry-goods, 
and  almost  every  other  conceivable  species  of  store,  follow  each  other  with  as  little  regularity 
as  the  scenes  in  a  kaleidoscope. 


J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  &  CO.'S  PRINTING-OFFICE  AND  BINDERY. 

But,  interesting  though  Second  Street  is,  we  cannot  linger  long  here,  but  must  return  to  the 
busy,  bustling  scenes  of  Market  Street.  Of  the  many  large  business  houses  on  this  street,  we 
make  special  mention  of  the  establishments  of  Garden  &  Co.,  extensive  dealers  in  hats,  whose 
tall,  white  building  is  a  conspicuous  object  on  Market  above  Sixth,  and  that  of  J.  B.  Lippin- 
cott  &  Co.,  one  of  the  largest  publishing  houses  in  the  world.  This  establishment  is  older  than 
the  present  century,  and  has  risen  with  the  city,  from  a  small  beginning  to  its  present  mammoth 
proportions.  Their  Printing-Office  and  Bindery,  on  Filbert  Street,  in  the  rear  of  the  store,  is 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  substantial  buildings  in  the  city. 

On  the  northwest  corner  of  Market  and  Eighth  stands  the  large  and  handsome  store  of 
Strawbridge  &  Clothier,  one  of  the  most  extensive  retail  dry-goods  houses  in  the  city. 

The  mammoth  establishment  of  Hood,  Bonbright  &  Co.,  importers  and  jobbers  of  dry-goods, 
on  Market  Street,  above  Eighth,  is  also  worthy  of  special  notice. 

A  good  hotel,  at  a  moderate  price,  will  be  found  in  the  Bingham  House,  the  third  in  size  in 
the  city.  This  house  is  on  the  corner  of  Eleventh  and  Market,  and,  as  shown  in  the  cut,  covers 
a  great  extent  of  ground. 


i6 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


The  square  of  ground  opposite  the  Bingham  House,  and  bounded  by  Chestnut  Market 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth,  is  one  of  the  monuments  of  Philadelphia's  most  munificent  benefactor' 
Stephen  Girard.  This  gentleman  left  the  whole  of  his  enormous  wealth  to  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, excepting  some  minor  bequests,  amounting,  in  the  aggregate,  to  between  three  and 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  best  known  of  the  trusts  established  by  Mr.  Girard's  will  is  the  celebrated  Girard  College 
spoken  of  in  another  place.  Another  was  the  square  of  ground  above  described,  which  is  now 
covered  with  buildings,  and  thus  tends  by  its  rentals  to  reduce  materially  the  city  taxes. 

Another  princely  bequest  of  Mr.  Girard's  was  about  eighteen  thousand  acres  of  coal  and 
timber  lands  in  Schuylkill  and  Columbia  Counties.    Of  this  territory  it  is  estimated  that  five 

thousand  five  hundred  acres  is  coal 
land.  With  the  exception  of  a  small 
amount  mined  by  Stephen  Girard 
himself,  very  early  in  the  history  of 
coal-mining,  these  magnificent  de- 
posits were  untouched  until  1863, 
when  they  were  developed,  and 
found  to  be  among  the  best  anthra- 
cite coal  lands  in  the  State.  There 
are  row  ten  collieries  located  on  the 
Girard  lands,  producing  about  one 
million  tons  of  coal  annually. 

Mr.  Girard  also  bequeathed  to  the 
city  four  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres  of  land  in  what  is 
now  Hart  County,  Kentucky ;  and  this 
has  also  proved  a  source  of  revenue. 

Immediately  opposite  a  portion  of 
the  Girard  Square,  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Twelfth  and  Market,  is  a 
huge  building  known  as  the  "  Far- 
mers' Market."  This  was  built  by 
the  associated  farmers,  who,  consider- 
ing themselves  aggrieved  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  public  markets  were 
conducted,  resolved  to  build  a  house 
for  themselves ;  and  we  cannot  regret 
the  quarrel,  since  it  has  given  us  this 
fine  and  convenient  building. 

Two  other  market-houses,  similarly 
constructed,  are  situated  farther  west 
on  this  street. 

Extensive  gas  works  are  situated  at  Twenty-Third  and  Market. 

The  Market  Street  Bridge,  a  commodious  but  unsightly  structure,  does  good  service  in  trans- 
porting goods  and  passengers  to  the  western  division  of  the  city.  All  the  merchandise  and 
nearly  all  the  passengers  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and  its  numerous  branches  must  cross 
this  bridge ;  having  done  which,  they  speedily  arrive  at  the  company's  two  depots,  occupying 
the  square  on  the  north  side  of  Market,  between  Thirty-first  and  Thirty-second. 

Market  Street  is  fast  pushing  its  way  westward.  Already  its  line  of  horse-cars  runs  to  Forty- 
first  Street,  while  a  branch  extends  to  Haddington,  on  the  western  verge  of  the  city. 

This  line  of  cars  runs  to  the  celebrated  "  Kirkbride"  Lunatic  Asylum,  more  properly  known 
as  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  the  oldest  institution  of  the  kind  in  America, 


HOOD,  BONBRIGHT  &  CO.  S  DRY-GOODS  HOUSE 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


EIGHTH  AND  MARKET  STREETS. — STRAWBRIDGE  &  CLOTHIER'S  DRY-GOODS  HOUSE. 

having  been  established  in  175 1  ;  though  it  has  occupied  its  present  location  only  since  1841. 
The  institution  is  located  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  acres,  the  entrance-gates 


BINGHAM  HOUSE. 
2 


iS 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


being  on  Haverford  Road.  About  one-third  of  the  grounds  is  laid  out  in  gardens  and  pleasure- 
grounds,  and  the  whole  estate  is  fitted  up  in  the  manner  most  calculated  to  attract  and  interest 
the  patients.  The  treatment  is  such  that  the  mind  is  kept  constantly  employed,  and  the 
patients  are  restored  to  health,  if  at  all,  by  kindness  and  judicious  treatment,  instead  of  endur- 
ing the  mad-house  horrors  so  common  in  the  last  century. 


VIEW  DOWN  MARKET  STREET,  FROM  TWELFTH. 


Permits  to  visit  ihe  asylum  can  be  obtained  at  the  office  of  the  Public  Ledger,  Sixth  and 
Chestnut  Streets. 


CHESTNUT  STREET. 

The  stranger  visiting  Philadelphia  will  naturally  consider  Chestnut  Street  as  the  represent- 
ative of  the  city.  Its  noble  buildings,  its  handsome  stores,  and  especially  the  crowds  which 
at  all  times  throng  its  sidewalks,  induce  him  to  associate  the  idea  of  Philadelphia  with  this 
single  street;  and  it  is  this  which  presents  itself  to  his  mind's  eye  whenever  the  city  is  after- 
wards named  in  his  hearing. 

Let  us  in  imagination  traverse  the  entire  length  of  the  street,  and  note  its  objects  of  interest. 

Starting  from  the  Delaware  front  of  the  city,  at  Chestnut  Street  Wharf,  where  many  river 
steamers  land,  we  turn  our  faces  westward,  pass  through  the  tide  of  commerce  which  ever 
flows  along  Delaware  Avenue,  on  the  river  bank,  and  climb  the  rather  steep  grade  leading  up 
to  Front  Street,  which  still  presents  a  reminder  of  William  Penn's  "  high  and  dry  bank." 

The  lofty  fronts  of  wholesale  dry-goods  houses,  which  line  both  sides  of  the  street  as  far  as 
Third  Street,  together  with  the  narrow  sidewalks,  make  this  portion  of  it  seem  narrow  and 
gloomy,  though  the  roadway  is  of  uniform  width  from  end  to  end.  At  Second  Street  we  make 
a  diversion  to  the  left,  and  in  a  moment  stand  before  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  new  and 
handsome  hall  of  the  Commercial  Exchange.  This  building,  which  is  of  brown  stone,  in  the 
Roman-Gothic  style,  was  built  in  1870,  on  the  site  of  the  first  Exchange,  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire  about  a  year  before,  while  still  in  its  first  youth,  and  which  was  the  noble  successor  of 
what  was,  in  its  time,  a  noble  mansion, — the  "  Slate-Roof  House,"  already  spoken  of. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVJPOXS. 


19 


CHESTNUT  STREET  BRIDGE. 


Immediately  opposite  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  stands  a  plain 
brick  building,  chiefly  conspicuous 
from  its  great  size  and'  severe  sim- 
plicity of  style.  This  contains  the 
United  States  Appraiser's  Stores, 
and  is  noted  as  being  one  of  the  few 
really  fire-proof  buildings  in  Amer- 
ica. Its  brick  walls  are  of  enormous 
thickness,  and  the  windows  are  pro- 
tected by  iron  shutters,  set  in  niches 
so  deep  that  no  fire  can  warp  them 
open.  Inside,  ail  is  of  iron  and 
brick,  coated  with  fire-proof  cement 
where  necessary,  and  so  arranged 
that  the  entire  contents  of  one  room 
may  burn  without  injuring  anything 
contained  in  the  adjoining  apart- 
ments. 

The  building  is  74  feet  front  by 
247  feet  in  depth,  and  is  five  stories 
high,  exclusive  of  the  basement. 
It  occupies  the  site  of  the  old  Penn- 
sylvania Bank  building,  the  marble 
of  which  that  structure  was  com- 
posed having  been  built  into  the 
vaults,  in  default  of  a  purchaser, 
thus  presenting  the  anomaly  of  a 
massive  foundation  of  marble  placed 


BANK  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


20 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LIS  ENVIRONS. 


under  a  brick  building,  and  that,  too,  at  a  cost  much  less  than  that  of  ordinary  stone. 
This  building  is  quite  new,  having  been  finished  in  the  fall  of  1871.  Its  warerooms  are  of 
magnificent  dimensions,  two  of  them  being  70  by  130  feet  in  extent,  and  three  others  70  by  180. 

Retracing  our  steps  to  Chestnut  Street,  we  admire  the  handsome  buildings  which  adorn  it 
between  Second  and  Third  Streets;  among  these  the  Jayne  building,  of  gray  granite,  is  espe- 
cially noticeable.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  is  the  Bank  of  Commerce,  of  brown  stone. 
On  the  southeast  corner  of  Third  is  the  main  office  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
a  five-story  brick  building,  radiating  wires  in  every  direction,  in  such  numbers  that  the 
intersection  of  the  streets  seems  to  be  covered  with  an  iron  net-work.  Directly  opposite  this, 
on  the  southwest  corner,  is  the  office  of  the  Public  Record. 

Third  Street  is  the  home  of  the  bankers  and  brokers.  To  a  certain  extent,  it  is  the  Wall 
Street  of  Philadelphia.  On  it  wc  find  the  eminent  banking-house  of  Drexcl  &  Co.,  and 
many  others. 


1 


BUILDING  OF  THE  GUARANTEE  TRUST  AND  SAFE  DEPOSIT  COMPANY. 


Again  turning  to  the  left,  we  pass  the  office  of  the  Evening  Telegraph,  and  a  few  doors  below 
it  we  find  the  Girard  Bank,  a  venerable  but  still  stately  edifice,  built  I795~8  for  the  first  United 
States  Bank,  and  afterwards  occupied  by  the  man  whose  name  it  bears,  and  whose  memory 
Philadelphia  must  ever  cherish  as  that  of  the  most  munificent  benefactor  she  has  ever  had ;  and 
nearly  opposite  this  is  the  Tradesmen's  Bank,  a  small  but  elegantly-designed  building  of  white 
New  Hampshire  granite. 

Again  resuming  our  way  up  Chestnut  Street,  we  pass,  on  the  south  side,  the  office  of  the 
Inquirer,  and  immediately  after,  on  the  north,  the  Bank  of  North  America,  the  first  bank  estab- 
lished in  the  United  States,  it  having  been  founded  by  Congress  in  1781,  when  the  credit  of 
the  country  was  very  far  indeed  below  par.    Robert  Morris  was  one  of  the  principal  originators 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


21 


of  this  bank,  and  it  proved  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  public  treasury. 
By  its  aid  he  succeeded  in  raising  again  the  public  credit  and  in  establishing  a  good  cir- 
culating medium.  The  present  building  is  of  brown  stone,  in  the  Florentine  style  of  archi- 
tecture. Just  above,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  is  the  new  building  of  the  Guaran- 
tee Trust  and  Safe  Deposit  Company,  a  beautiful  structure  of  pressed  brick  ornamented  with 
Ohio  stone  and  colored  tiles.  Its  frontage  on  Chestnut  Street  is  57  feet,  and  its  depth  198  feet. 
The  building  was  erected  in  1874,  and  has  the  merits  of  combining  novelty  and  beauty  of 
design  with  the  greatest  security  against  both  fire  and  theft.    The  safe  deposit  vaults,  six  in 


CUSTOM-HOUSE  AND  POST-OFFICE. 

number,  are  situated  at  the  rear  end  of  the  building,  and  are  constructed  with  every  precaution 
for  safety.    Each  vault  is  ten  feet  wide  by  eighteen  feet  deep. 

Below  Fourth  Street,  and  opposite  Carpenters'  Hall,  is  the  elegant  white  marble  building  of 
e  Fidelity  Safe  Deposit  and  Insurance  Company,  which  combines  a  handsome  exterior  with 
e  most  impregnable  security  that  modern  science  can  devise.  It  is  in  the  Italian  style, 
with  a  front  of  Lee  marble,  and  is  the  largest  enterprise  of  the  kind  in  the  country.  The 
safe  alone  weighs  150  tons,  and  cost  $60,000.  And  on  Fourth  Street,  just  below  Chestnut, 
stands  the  new  iron  building  of  the  Provident  Life  and  Trust  Company,  a  much  admired 
piece  of  architecture. 


PHILADELPHIA  AM)  ITS.  I  X VI RONS. 


itlimft 


Till:  CONTINENTAL  MOTLL. 


PROVIDENT  LIFE  AND  TRUST  CO.'S  BUILDING. 


The  Custom -House  stands  on 
tire  south  side  of  the  street,  between 
Fourth  and  Fifth.  It  has  two  fronts, 
one  on  Chestnut,  the  other  on  Li- 
brary Street,  each  ornamented  with 
eight  fluted  Doric  columns,  27  feet 
high  and  4  feet  6  inches  in  diameter, 
supporting  a  heavy  entablature.  It 
is  in  imitation  of  the  Parthenon  at 
Athens,  and  is  one  of  the  purest 
specimens  of  Doric  architecture  in 
the  country.  The  building  was 
completed  in  1824,  having  cost 
>5oo,ooo,  and  was  formerly  the 
United  States  Bank.  It  is  now  used 
by  the  United  States  Sub-Treas- 
ury and  Custom-House  officers. 

Opposite  the  Custom-House,  just 
above  the  Philadelphia  Bank,  a 
handsome  granite  building,  stands 
the  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank, 
an  imposing  white  marble  structure. 
This  Bank,  one  of  the  oldest  insti- 
tutions of  its  kind  in  the  city,  com- 
menced its  existence  in  1807,  with 
a  capital  of  $700,000,  as  "An  Asso- 
ciation for  the  loaning  of  money 
upon  reasonable  terms,  under  the 
name  and  style  of  The  President 
and  Directors  of  the  Farmers'  and 
Mechanics'  Bank  in  the  City  of 
Philadelphia,  the  object  and  oper- 
ations of  which  are  calculated  to 
advance  the  interest  of  agriculture, 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LPS  ENVIRONS. 


23 


manufactures,  and  the  mechanical  arts,  to  produce  benefit  to  trade  and  industry  in  general, 
and  to  repress  the  practice  of  usury."  It  first  occupied  the  building  No.  102  Chestnut  Street 
(old  number),  above  Third  Street.  In  1809  the  Association  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature 
of  Pennsylvania  as  the  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $1,250,000,  and  was 
four  times  re-chartered.  Not  very  long  after  this  the  bank  was  moved  to  No.  100  Chestnut 
Street,  where  it  remained  until  the  purchase  of  a  capacious  mansion-house  on  the  site  of  the 
present  banking  building.  This  house  was  a  Revolutionary  landmark,  having  been  the  head- 
quarters of  Lord  Howe  during  the  British  occupation  of  Philadelphia.  In  1855  they  took 
possession  of  their  new  building,  the  banking-room  proper  being  in  the  rear,  and  approached 
by  a  corridor  running  through  the 
front  edifice,  which  is  divided  into 
offices,  and  is  partly  occupied  by 
the  Philadelphia  Clearing-House. 
This  Bank  is  the  Clearing-House 
depositary,  and  is  also  transfer 
agent  of  the  Commonwealth  and 
City  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  trans- 
fer of  its  loans  and  payment  of 
the  interest  thereon.  April  24, 
1856,  the  capital  was  increased  to 
$2,000,000. 

Adjoining  the  Farmers'  and 
Mechanics'  Bank,  just  above,  is 
the  building  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Life  Insurance  and  Trust  Com- 
pany. The  front  is  of  Quincy 
granite,  of  a  massive  and  impos- 
ing style  of  architecture,  well 
suited  to  the  substantial  character 
of  the  Company,  which  is  the 
oldest  of  its  kind  in  the  city,  hav- 
ing been  established  in  1812.  No 
expense  or  pains  have  been  spared 
in  rendering  the  new  building  per- 
fect for  its  purposes,  as  a  fire-  and 
burglar-proof  structure.  The  safes 
alone  involved  an  outlay  of  nearly 
$100,000.  The  former  office  of  the 
Company  was  in  Walnut  Street 
above  Third. 

Just  above  the  Custom-House 
is  the  old  Post-Office,  a  handsome 
marble  building.  Although  the  facilities  of  this  department  were  greatly  increased  when  this 
Office  was  built,  not  long  since,  the  rapid  growth  of  its  business  now  calls  for  greater  space, 
and  to  supply  the  want  a  new  building  is  being  erected  at  the  corner  of  Ninth  and  Chestnut 
Streets,  for  which  an  appropriation  of  $3,000,000  has  been  made. 

Around  the  corner,  in  Fifth  Street,  is  the  Philadelphia  Library,  one  of  the  staidly  solemn 
things  which  seem  still  to  preserve  the  spirit  of  the  city's  Quaker  founders.  It  was  founded  in 
1731. — mainly  through  the  influence  of  Dr.  Franklin,  whose  statue,  in  marble,  is  placed  over 
the  entrance, — and  took  possession  of  its  present  buildings  in  1790.  It  still  observes  the  rules 
made  for  its  government  in  1 73 1 ,  and  has  a  venerable  air  about  it  which  impresses  one  strongly 
as  he  steps  into  its  quiet  halls.    But,  notwithstanding  its  age  and  sedateness,  the  library  keeps 


FIDELITY  SAFE  DEPOSIT  COMPANY'S  BUILDING. 


PI/ir.ADELPIirA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


pace  with  time,  and  new  books  are  constantly  being  placed  on  its  shelves.  The  Loganian 
Library  is  in  the  same  building.    Both  libraries  united  contain  about  95,000  volumes. 

The  building  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  stands  opposite  the  library.  The 
dream-life  into  which  one  unconsciously  falls  in  the  alcoves  of  the  library  is  rudely  broken, 
as  he  steps  out,  by  the  constant  bustle  about  the  Mayor's  Office  and  the  Police  Headquarters, 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  Fifth  and  Chestnut.    This  building  is  at  the  eastern  end  of  "  State- 


iirir* 


FARMERS    AND  MECHANICS  BANK. 

House  Row,"  noticed  in  connection  with  Independence  Hall,  which  stands  in  the  middle  of 
the  Row. 

Glancing  at  Fred.  Brown's  handsome  drug-store,  on  the  northeast  corner,  we  next  pass  the 
American  Hotel,  also  on  the  north  side  of  Chestnut  Street. 

On  the  southwest  corner  of  Sixth  and  Chestnut,  the  imposing  brown-stone  pile  of  the 
Ledger  building  attracts  the  stranger's  eye,  and  he  recognizes  it  at  once  as  one  of  the  lions  of 
the  city.    It  is  well  shown  in  our  engraving. 

On  the  opposite  side,  a  few  doors  above  Sixth,  is  the  office  of  the  Evening  Bulletin,  the 
oldest  afternoon  paper  in  the  city.  Nearly  opposite  the  Bulletin  office  is  the  handsome  office 
of  the  German  Democrat,  and  on  the  corner  of  Seventh  Street  that  of  the  Press.  On  the  cor- 
ner opposite  is  the  Sunday  Transcript  office,  and  above  that  is  the  office  of  the  Times. 

At  this  point  the  fashionable  promenade  may  be  said  to  begin.    Bright  faces  and  gay  cos- 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS.  25 


FIFTH  AND  CHESTNUT. 

tumes  throng  the  sidewalk  beyond  this,  and  the  street  is  lined  with  the  tastefully  arranged  shop- 
windows  for  which  Philadelphia  is  noted.    The  group  which  our  artist  has  collected  in  front 


PUBLIC  LEDGER  BUILDING. 


20 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


of  the  store  of  Henry  A.  Dreer,  the  well-known  seedsman  and  florist,  is  a  fair  sample  of  what 
may  be  seen  along  this  portion  of  the  street  on  any  fine  afternoon. 

The  extensive  and  elegant  front  of  the  old  Masonic  Temple  next  attracts  attention.  It  is  a 
very  beautiful  building,  and  was  once  considered  the  finest  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States ; 
but  it  became  too  small,  and  the  brethren  of  the  mystic  tie  accordingly  built  the  new  and 
splendid  structure  at  Broad  and  Filbert  Streets,  which  will  be  noticed  in  the  proper  place.  The 
old  one  will  probably  be  devoted  to  business  uses,  the  handsome  stores  already  in  the  building 

showing  its  fitness  for  such  pur- 
V       ^  ^  ■="->  poses. 

One  block  above,  the  Girard 
House  lifts  its  stately  front.  T  his 
is  the  second  hotel,  in  point  of 
size,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  it  is  a  formidable  competitor 
of  its  mammoth  rival  across  the 
way,  the  far-famed  Continental. 

The  latter,  by  far  the  largest 
hotel  in  the  city,  covers  forty-one 
thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  square  feet  of  ground.  It  is  six 
stories  high  ;  the  Chestnut  Street 
front  being  of  Albert  and  Pictou 
sandstone,  and  the  others,  on 
Ninth  and  Sansom  Streets,  of  fine 
pressed  brick.  It  was  opened  in 
February,  i860,  and  has  ever  since 
been  a  favorite  with  the  traveling 
public.  All  its  appointments  are 
of  the  most  perfect  description. 
An  elevator  carries  guests  from 
the  ground  floor  to  the  highest 
story  ;  telegraph  wires  convey  their 
messages  to  any  part  of  the  coun- 
try ;  their  baggage  is  checked  and 
their  tickets  purchased  under  the 
same  roof ;  while  the  tables  are  of 
the  finest. 

Diagonally  across  from  the  Con- 
tinental is  the  site  for  the  new  Post- 
Office,  on  the  north  side  of  Chest- 
nut, above  Ninth.  It  will  occupy 
half  the  square  between  Chestnut 
and  Market  and  Ninth  and  Tenth. 
At  this  writing,  the  details  of  the  new  Post-Office  have  not  been  completed.  The  ground 
appropriated  to  its  use  extends  from  Chestnut  to  Market  Streets,  a  distance  of  484  feet,  and  is 
175  feet  9  inches  in  width.  The  building  will  cover  425  feet  8  inches  on  Ninth  Street  by  1 50  feet 
on  Chestnut  and  Market.  It  is  proposed  to  make  Ninth  Street  20  feet  wider,  and  it  is  thought 
the  United  States  Government  will  eventually  purchase  the  whole  square  bounded  by  Chestnut, 
Market,  Ninth  and  Tenth  Streets,  and  dedicate  it  to  national  use. 

On  the  southwest  corner  of  Ninth  and  Chestnut  stands  a  group  of  marble  stores  which  are 
unsurpassed  for  substantial  beauty  in  the  city.  Fine  stores,  indeed,  may  be  said  to  be  the  rule 
from  Ninth  to  Eleventh,  and  there  are  many  on  either  side  of  these  limits. 


PENNSYLVANIA  INSURANCE  AND  TRUST  CO.  S  BUILDING. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


27 


Above  Ninth,  on  the  north  side  of  Chestnut,  is  the  handsome  building  of  the  long-estab- 
lished and  well-known  Penn  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company. 


OLD  MASONIC  TEMPLE. 


On  the  northwest  corner  of  Tenth  and  Chestnut  Streets  stands  the  magnificent  granite 
building  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  of  New  York.    It  is  one  of  the  handsomest 


28  PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


SCENE  ON  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


structures  in  the  city,  and  is  a  fit  representative  of  the  en- 
terprise of  the  great  and  wealthy  corporation  that  erected 
it,  and  whose  offices  are  located  within  its  walls.  No  ex- 
pense has  been  spared  to  render  the  building  perfect  in 
every  respect,  it  being  entirely  fire-proof,  and  admirably 
arranged  for  its  purposes. 

,:Girard  Row,"  on  the  north  side  of  Chestnut  from 
Eleventh  to  Twelfth,  contains  many  elegant  stores.  Among 
them  are  C.  F.  Haseltine's  extensive  and  elegant  art  gal- 
leries, shown  in  our  engraving. 

At  1 122  Chestnut  Street  the  building  of  the  American 
Sunday-School  Union  finds  itself  in  the  very  centre  of  busi- 
ness now,  but  when  erected,  in  1854,  it  was  quite  "  out  of 
town."  This  is  the  head-quarters  and  central  office  of  the 
Union  ;  but  its  branches  ramify  all  over  the  world,  and  its 
missionaries  are  continually  extending  its  sphere  of  useful- 
ness. Founded  in  1817  as  an  Adult  and  Sunday  School 
Union,  it  was  instituted  as  the  American  Sunday-School 
Union  in  1824,  and  has  ever  since  been  steadily  at  work, 
instructing  and  elevating  the  masses. 

The  splendid  building  containing  Bailey  &  Co.'s  jewelry- 
store,  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Twelfth  and  Chestnut, 
will  excite  the  admiration  of  the  visitor.  This  store-room 
is  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  city.    It  presents  a  front  of 


AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


29 


forty-four  feet  on  Chestnut  Street  by  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  on  Twelfth,  and  its  ceiling  is 
twenty-two  feet  in  height.  The  building  was  erected  by  Dr.  S.  S.  White,  who  occupies  all  of 
it,  except  the  first  floor,  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  artificial  teeth,  dentists'  instruments, 
etc.,  in  which  specialty  he  does  the  largest  business  in  the  world,  having  branch  houses  in  New 
York,  Boston,  and  Chicago. 

We  next  pass  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  one  of  the  most  popular  places  of  amusement  of 
its  kind  in  the  city,  and  Concert  Hall,  on  the  north  side  of  the  street,  and  crossing  Thirteenth 
Street,  come  to  the  United 
States  Mint. 

This  building  was  erected 
in  1829,  pursuant  to  an  act 
of  Congress  enlarging  the 
operations  of  the  govern- 
ment coining,  and  supple- 
mentary to  the  act  creating 
the  Mint,  which  was  passed 
in  1792.  The  structure  is 
of  the  Ionic  order,  copied 
from  a  temple  at  Athens. 
It  is  of  brick,  faced  with 
marble  ashlar. 

Visitors  are  admitted 
between  nine  and  twelve 
o'clock,  every  day  except 
Saturday  and  Sunday  ;  and 
the  beautiful  and  delicate 
operations  and  contrivances 
for  coining,  as  well  as  the 
extensive  numismatic  cabi- 
net, are  well  worth  seeing. 

The  new  building  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Pub- 
lication stands  nearly  op- 
posite the  Mint.  It  is  a 
handsome  four-story  edi- 
fice, with  a  frort  of  white 
granite,  trimmed  with  pol- 
ished Aberdeen  stone. 

Crossing  Broad  Street, 
we  pass  several  handsome 
stores,  especially  noticeable 
among  which  is  the  beau- 
tiful new  building  of  the 
Baptist  Board  of  Publica- 
tion, presenting  a  strikingly  elegant  white  marble  front. 

On  the  southeast  corner  of  Fifteenth  and  Chestnut  Streets  is  the  imposing  new  building  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  It  is  a  very  handsome  and  substantial  structure,  with  every 
advantage  for  advancing  the  objects  of  the  Association.    The  ground  floor  is  devoted  to  stores. 

On  the  opposite  corner  of  Fifteenth  and  Chestnut,  the  Colonnade  Hotel  has  recently  been 
built  to  meet  the  growing  demands  for  up-town  hotel  accommodations.  It  takes  its  name  from 
Colonnade  Row,  a  handsome  series  of  buildings,  several  of  which  were  torn  down  to  make 
room  for  it.  The  Colonnade  is  a  large  and  well-kept  hotel ;  it  can  accommodate  four  hundred 
guests,  and  its  kitchen  facilities  are  especially  complete. 


PENN  MUTUAL  LIFE  INSURANCE  CO.  S  BUILDING. 


3° 


Just  above  the  Colonnade  stands  the  fine  white  marble  house  of  the  Reform  Club,  and 
adjoining  it  the  West  End  Hotel,  recently  completed. 

From  Sixteenth  Street,  rows  of  stately  dwellings  extend  to  the  Schuylkill,  over  which  a 
substantial  and  elegant  bridge  has  recently  been  thrown. 

Another  new  bridge,  extending  from  South  and  Chippewa  Streets  to  the  west  side  of  the  West 
Chester  Railroad,  a  total  distance  of  2419  feet,  has  recently  been  erected  at  South  Street,  a 
short  distance  farther  down  the  river  ;  and  an  elegant  one,  used  by  the  Junction  Railroad,  is 
just  below  that. 

The  Schuylkill  may  be  reckoned  among  Philadelphia's  "  reserve  forces."    With  a  depth  of 


BUILDING  OF  THE  MUTUAL  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


water  sufficient  to  float  a  frigate,  and  room  enough  on  either  bank  for  long  rows  of  wharves 
and  warehouses,  its  facilities  are  yet  to  be  fully  employed.  Some  coal-  and  stone-yards  on  its 
shores  employ  a  few  vessels  annually,  and  the  Schuylkill  Canal  brings  down  numbers  of  boats 
from  the  mines  in  the  coal  regions;  but,  apart  from  these,  there  is  as  yet  comparatively  little 
commerce  on  the  Schuylkill.  This  grand  avenue  to  the  future  heart  of  the  city  is  still  waiting 
for  the  time  when  its  services  shall  be  required, — a  time  which  cannot  be  far  distant.  Down 
the  river,  near  its  mouth,  are  extensive  wharves  for  the  shipment  of  petroleum,  which  is 
exported  thence  in  immense  quantities. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


3i 


For  a  few  squares  on  the  west  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  Chestnut  Street  retains  the  solidly 
built-up  appearance  of  a  city  street;  but  this  is  soon  lost  in  a  succession  of  elegant  villas  and 
country  seats,  and,  finally,  in  a  territory  which,  as  yet,  is  a  part  of  the  city  only  on  the  map. 

As  a  specimen  of  suburban 
architecture,  we  present  a 
view  of  the  residence  of  A.  - 
J.  Drexel,  the  well-known 
banker,  at  Thirty-ninth  and 
Walnut,  West  Philadelphia. 

This  portion  of  the  city  is 
new,  and  is  growing  very  rap- 
idly. Fortunately,  Chestnut 
Street  and  its  neighbors  on 
the  south  have  been  almost 
monopolized  by  the  subur- 
ban residences  of  wealthy 
citizens,  who  have  adorned 
their  homes  with  spacious 
grounds  with  trees  and 
flowers,  and  have  planted 
shade-trees  along  the  streets  ; 
so  that  this  neighborhood  is 
now,  and  must  ever  remain, 
a  lovely  blending  of  all  fhat 
is  most  beautiful  in  city  and 
country. 

The  northwestern  ^portion 
of  West  Philadelphia,  adjoin- 
ing the  Centennial  Grounds, 
has  been  developed  with  won- 
derful rapidity  during  the 
past  year,  the  majority  of  the 
buildings  being  erected  es- 
pecially with  a  view  to  use 
during  the  Exhibition.  For 
the  purpose  of  affording  ac- 
commodations for  visitors  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
grounds,  several  large  and 
commodious  hotels  have  been 
built,  among  which  are  the 
Trans-Continental,  the  Globe, 
the  United  States,  and  the 
Grand  Exposition  Hotel. 

In  the  southern  section  of 
West  Philadelphia  stand  the 
handsome  buildings  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania. 
This  institution  was  chartered  as  a  charity 
a  college  in  1755,  and  into  a  university  in 
Arch,  but  was  removed  to  Ninth  Street  in 


school  and  academy  in  1750,  and  was  erected  into 
1779.  ^  was  fir5t  located  on  Fourth  Street,  below 
1798,  and  until  1872  occupied  two  large  buildings 


which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  new  Post-Office.    The  old  buildings  having  become  inadequate 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  EN VI PONS. 


TWELFTH  AND  CHESTNUT.— DR.  S.  S.  WHITES  BUILDING. 

to  its  wants  the  present  magnificent  structures  of  serpentine  marble  were  erected,  and  occupied 
in  1872.    They  form  one  of  the  handsomest  groups  of  college  buildings  in  the  United  States. 


r 


i ! —  r^r>  — -     .  — 


11 


r  'ft  i| '  Fiji  1  ! 
•••     f  ff  r   If  "  F 


-    -  — aK\v:,v^ — VrV —  — -  r^-^—  

Bin  OH  1  f  siiiWRB  . 


THE  COLONNADE  HOTEL. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


33 


UNITED  STATES  MINT. 

The  University  is  divided  into  academical,  collegiate,  medical,  and  law  departments,  and 
among  its  faculty  are  numbered  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  State. 
The  junction  of  Thirty-sixth  Street,  Darby  Road,  and  Locust  Street  was  selected  as  the 


34  PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


CHESTNUT  STREET,  ABOVE  FIFTEENTH,  SHOWING  THE  REFORM  CLUB  HOUSE. 

best  location  for  the  new  buildings  of  the  University.  The  trustees  have  erected  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  Department  of  Arts  and  of  Science  one  of  the  largest  and  most  con 


THIRTY-NINTH  AND  WALNUT. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS.  35 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. — DEPARTMENTS  OF  ARTS  AND  OF  SCIENCE. 

veniently  arranged  college  buildings  in  the  country.  This  building  stands  in  a  square  of 
ground  containing  more  than  six  acres,  and  is  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet  front,  by  more 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. — MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT. 


J6 


than  one  hundred  in  depth.  It 
was  planned  with  special  reference 
to  the  greatly  increased  number  of 
rooms  required  for  the  full  develop- 
ment of  that  elective  system  of 
studies  which  has  now  become  the 
settled  policy  in  the  Department  of 
Arts,  as  well  as  for  the  purpose  of 
affording  every  facility  for  teaching 
science  in  its  applications  to  the  arts. 

The  students  in  these  two  depart- 
ments arc  under  a  common  govern- 
ment and  discipline,  and  are  in 
constant  association  with  each 
other.  The  instruction,  however, 
in  each  department  is  in  charge  of 
a  distinct  faculty,  and  both  the 
objects  of  that  instruction  and  the 
methods  of  imparting  it  differ  es- 
sentially. 

The  Law  Department  has  its  lect- 
ure-rooms in  the  building  of  the  De- 
partments of  Arts  and  of  Science. 

For  the  use  of  the  Department  of 
Medicine  the  trustees  have  erected 
a  building  of  very  large  dimensions, 
which  is  arranged  for  the  conven- 
ient accommodation  and  instruc- 
tion of  students  in  accordance  with 
plans  based  upon  long  experience 
here,  and  which  is  supplied  with  all 
the  approved  means  of  research 
and  investigation. 

Adjoining  this  building  is  a  large 
hospital,  which  is  placed  in  charge 
of  the  medical  faculty.  This  hos- 
pital will  prove  an  invaluable  means 
of  clinical  instruction.  It  has  ac- 
commodations for  between  one 
and  two  hundred  patients,  with 
private  rooms  for  patients  of  means. 

In  this  connection  we  would  men- 
tion the  Jefferson  Medical  College, 
an  institution  of  corresponding  im- 
portance, established  in  1825.  Its 
building  stands  in  Tenth  Street, 
below  Chestnut,  and  is  furnished 
with  every  facility  for  the  instruction 
of  students.  The  trustees  propose 
to  erect  a  larger  building  shortly, 
to  meet  the  increasing  wants  of 
the  college. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


37 


WALNUT  STREET. 

Walnut  Street,  the  chosen  haunt  of  the  coal  trade,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  of  the  insurance 
business,  presents  many  points  of  interest.  The  anthracite  coal  trade  of  the  Lehigh  and 
Schuylkill  regions,  which  is  so  important  a  feature  of  the  domestic  industry  of  Pennsylvania, 
centres  in  the  lower  part  of  this  street,  a  large  four-story  building  of  brown  stone,  on  the 
corner  of  Second  and  Walnut,  being  entirely  given  up  to  this  business,  and  filled  with  the 
offices  of  coal  firms.    It  is  known  as  "Anthracite  Block." 


PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD  COMPANY'S  BUILDING. 


A  little  below  Third  Street,  Walnut  Street  is  crossed  diagonally  by  Dock,  and  in  the  trian- 
gular space  bounded  by  Third,  Dock,  and  Walnut  stands  the  magnificent  building  of  the 
Merchants'  Exchange.  It  is  an  imposing  edifice,  built  of  Pennsylvania  marble,  and,  from  its 
conspicuous  position,  forms  the  most  prominent  feature  of  this  part  of  the  city.  The  spacious 
rotunda  on  its  eastern  side  has  recently  been  fitted  up  in  a  sumptuous  manner  for  the  use  of 
the  Board  of  Brokers. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIliONS. 


DELAWARE  MUTUAL  SAFETY  INSURANCE  COMPANY'S  BUILDING. 


On  the  southeast  corner  of  Third  and  Walnut  Streets  stands  the  building  of  the  Delaware 
Mutual  Safety  Insurance  Company.  At  the  time  it  was  erected,  more  than  twenty  years  since, 
it  was  one  of  the  handsomest  corporation  buildings  in  the  city.    This  company  is  one  of  the 


READING  RAILROAD  COMPANY'S  BUILDING. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


39 


PHILADELPHIA  SAVINGS  FUND. 


most  reliable  in  the  city,  with  assets  amounting  to  over  two  millions ;  its  business  covers 
three  classes  of  insurance, — marine,  inland,  and  fire. 

Passing  the  Sunday  Dispatch 
office,  on  the  corner  of  Third  Street, 
we  pass  an  almost  unbroken  file  of 
coal  offices,  until  we  reach  Fourth 
Street,  and  here  we  turn  the  corner 
into  Fourth  to  visit  the  splendid 
new  offices  of  the  Pennsylvania 
and  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading 
Railroad  Companies,  which  stand 
side  by  side  on  the  east  side  of 
Fourth  Street,  below  Walnut. 

The  office  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  was  built  in  187 1-2.  It  is 
of  brick,  with  an  elegant  front  of 
Ouincy  granite,  and  of  dimensions 
adapted  to  the  business  of  a  corpo- 
ration which  owns  and  controls 
more  miles  of  rail  than  any  other 
in  the  world.  The  immense  extent 
of  this  company's  operations  is  too 
well  known  to  need  repetition  here. 

The  office  of  the  Reading  Rail- 
road was  so  much  enlarged  and 
improved  during  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1 87 1  as  to  make  it,  in  effect, 
a  new  building.  This,  the  second 
road  in  importance  in  the  State, 
taps  the  rich  deposits  of  anthracite 
coal  in  the  Southern  and  Middle 

Coal-fields,  and  carries  to  market  building  of  the  franklin  fire  insurance  co. 


the 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


WESTERN  SAVINGS  HANK. 


an  average  of  five  million  tons  annually.  In  1870  it  absorbed  the  Germantown  and  Norris- 
town  Railroads,  and  now  conducts  an  enormous  passenger  traffic  over  both. 

Above  Fourth  Street,  on  the  north  side,  we  pass,  among  other  substantial  buildings,  that  of 
the  Franklin  Fire  Insurance  Company,  well  known  as  one  of  the  most  reliable  companies  in 


EAST  RITTENHOUSE  SQUARE. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


4-1 


this  country.  Its  charter  is  perpetual,  dating  from  1829,  and  its  assets  now  amount  to  nearly 
three  and  a  half  millions. 

Continuing  up  Walnut  Street,  we  pass  on  the  left  of  what  was  once  the  "  State-House  Yard," 
but  has  since  been  named  "  Independence  Square."  This  square  has  recently  been 
thoroughly  "repaired,"  so  to  speak,  the  pathways  having  been  flagged,  the  ground  resodded, 
and  the  iron  railing  removed.  It  now  presents  a  handsome  and  park-like  appearance.  The 
lamp-posts  are  noticeable  as  being  formed  of  a  combination  of  panels  representing  the  thirteen 
original  States,  capped  by  the  liberty  bell. 

Washington  Square,  which  is  diagonally  opposite  Independence  Square,  has  already  been 
described  at  length. 

Outside  the  railing  of  this  square,  on  the  line  with  Seventh  Street,  is  a  stone  fountain  sur- 
mounted by  an  eagle  standing  on  a  globe,  which  is  noteworthy  as  being  the  first  of  those 


TWENTY-FIRST  AND  WALNUT. 

benevolent  structures  in  providing  which  the  Philadelphia  Fountain  Society  has  already  earned 
the  gratitude  of  thousands  of  thirsty  men  and  suffering  beasts. 

This  society  was  formed  in  February,  1869,  and  erected  its  first  fountain  in  the  succeeding 
April.  From  that  time  to  the  close  of  1874,  seventy-three  fountains  were  erected  through  its 
efforts,  many  of  them  being  the  gifts  of  individuals  or  of  societies  other  than  that  having  the 
work  in  special  charge,  but  all  given  at  its  instance  and  through  its  influence. 

The  following  extract  from  the  society's  report  for  1874  gives  an  idea  of  the  important  work 
it  is  doing  :  "  Here  we  have  a  truthful  estimate  of  the  number  of  persons  and  horses  drinking 
at  ten  of  our  fountains  in  twelve  consecutive  hours,  amounting  to  4885  persons  and  1831  horses, 
which,  taken  as  an  average  of  the  seventy-three  fountains  now  in  active  operation  over  the  city, 
would  give  you  the  gratifying  aggregate  in  twelve  hours  of  35,660  persons  and  13,366  horses." 

What  might  be  termed  another  benevolent  institution,  though  it  is  so  according  to  the  sound 
commercial  rule  of  benefiting  both  parties,  is  the  Philadelphia  Savings  Fund  Society,  whose 
building  stands  on  the  corner  of  Walnut  Street  and  West  Washington  Square.    This  society, 


42 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  country,  was  established  in  i8i6,  and  has  ever  since  been  eminently 
successful.  All  its  earnings  are  appropriated  for  the  benefit  of  the  depositors,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  amount  necessary  to  meet  the  working  expenses.  From  a  small  beginning,  the 
business  of  the  institution  has  gradually  increased,  until  now  its  depositors  number  thirty-nine 
thousand,  and  their  united  deposits  exceed  ten  million  dollars. 

We  give  also  a  view  of  another  similar  institution,  that  of  the  Western  Savings  Fund,  at  Tenth 
and  Walnut. 

Trade  has  not  yet  pushed  its  way  on  Walnut  Street  beyond  this  point.  From  here  Ion-  row, 
of  substantially-built  houses,  whose  very  exteriors  have  an  air  of  comfort  about  them,  as  if  they 
would  hint  at  the  ease  and  plenty  within,  stretch  away  almost  to  the  Schuylkill. 


TWENTY-SECOND  AND  WALNUT. 


At  Eighteenth  and  Walnut  Streets  is  Rittenhouse  Square,  one  of  the  finest  of  the  public  parks. 
It  is  adorned  with  elaborate  drinking-fountains,  the  gifts  of  wealthy  philanthropists,  and  is 
surrounded  by  elegant  and  costly  dwellings,  this  being  one  of  the  most  aristocratic  quarters  of 
Philadelphia.  An  especially  noticeable  residence  is  that  of  Joseph  Harrison,  Jr.,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  square,  a  view  of  which  is  herewith  presented. 

Two  of  the  finest  Walnut  Street  houses  are  shown  in  the  accompanying  cuts.  The  first  is 
situated  on  the  corner  of  Twenty-first  and  Walnut.  It  is  of  white  marble,  from  the  Lee  quarries, 
and  is  in  the  Italian  style  of  architecture.  The  second,  on  the  corner  of  Twenty-second  and 
Walnut,  also  of  white  marble,  is  the  residence  of  George  W.  Childs,  the  well-known  and 
successful  proprietor  of  the  Public  Ledger. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


43 


ARCH  STREET. 

Arch  Street,  though  a  wide  and  handsome  avenue,  has  never  found  its  course  obstructed 
by  such  a  tide  of  travel  and  traffic  as  surges  through  Market  Street.  It  has  always  been  an 
eminently  "respectable"  street,  and  a  certain  air  of  old-time  gentility  still  invests  it;  one  feels 
that,  in  passing  from  Market  to  Arch,  he  has  unconsciously  stepped  back  fifty  years  into  the 


past ;  the  roar  and  hurry  of  to-day  have  given  way  to  the  steady-going,  quiet  ways  of  the 
earlier  years  of  the  century,  and  he  would  scarcely  be  surprised  to  see  a  gentleman  in  powdered 
wig,  knee-breeches,  and  three-cornered  hat  descending  from  any  one  of  the  stately  dwellings 
whose  uniform  brick  fronts,  green  shutters,  and  marble  steps  are  the  representatives  of,  if  not 


44 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


the  foundation  for,  the  monotonous  Philadelphia  which  satirical  visitors  are  fond  of  depicting. 
The  lower  part  of  the  street  has,  indeed,  been  invaded,  to  a  certain  extent,  by  the  bustling  life 
of  commerce  ;  but  west  of  Eleventh  Street  all  is  quiet,  and  the  street  is  lined  with  the  dwellings 
of  the  merchant  princes  of  the  city. 

Consequently,  we  have  few  points  of  interest  to  note  here.  In  our  walk  up-street,  we  stop, 
of  course,  to  look  through  the  iron  railing  set  in  the  wall  of  Christ  Church  burying-ground,  at 
Fifth  and  Arch,  and  pay  our  homage  to  the  grave  of  Benjamin  Franklin  ;  and  we  cannot  fail 
to  notice,  as  we  pass,  the  ancient  Friends'  Meeting-House  which  stands  on  the  south  side  of 


ARCH  SREET  THEATRE. 

the  street,  between  Third  and  Fourth,  surrounded  by  a  yard  whose  dimensions  suggest  the 
good  old  times  of  its  erection,  when  land  was  plenty  and  taxes  light.  This  meeting-house  was 
built  in  1808.  It  is  the  successor  of  one  which  stood  in  High  Street,  and  has  ever  since  been 
one  of  the  principal  places  of  worship  of  the  Quakers  in  Philadelphia.  This  denomination, 
being  that  to  which  Penn  and  his  followers  belonged,  was,  naturally,  the  first  to  erect  a  place 
of  worship.  "  The  Great  Meeting-House,"  as  it  was  called,  at  the  corner  of  Second  and  High 
Streets,  was  erected  in  1695,  on  land  bestowed  by  George  Fox,  "  for  truth's  and  Friends'  sake." 
"  Great  as  it  was,"  says  Watson,  "  it  was  taken  down  in  1755,  to  build  greater;"  and  in  1808 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


45 


the  "  street  noise  of  increased  population"  drove  the  worshipers  to  the  quiet  retreat  on  Arch 
Street,  where  they  still  find  themselves  able  to  worship  without  disturbance. 

A  little  above  Sixth  Street  we  pass  Mrs.  John  Drew's  Arch  Street  Theatre,  one  of  the  standard 
places  of  amusement  in  the  city.  Its  interior  arrangements  are  excellent.  The  auditorium  will 
seat  eighteen  hundred  persons,  and  the  dimensions  of  the  stage,  sixty-seven  feet  square  by 
thirty  feet  high,  give  convenient  room  for  representations. 


ST.  CLOUD  HOTEL. 


Another  square  westward,  we  come  to  the  St.  Cloud  Hotel,  a  new  and  excellent  house,  and 
very  convenient  to  the  business  part  of  the  city. 

Still  farther  on  we  find  two  other  places  of  amusement, — the  Museum,  on  the  corner  of  Ninth, 
and  Simmons  and  Slocum's  Opera  House,  a  few  doors  above  Tenth. 

On  Arch,  above  Tenth,  are  the  Methodist  Book  Rooms, — the  Mecca  of  Methodist  pilgrims, 
—and  at  Broad  and  Arch  are  the  stately  churches  elsewhere  spoken  of. 

At  the  corner  of  Thirteenth  is  St.  George's  Hall,  a  strikingly  handsome  white  marble  building, 
belonging  to  the  St.  George  Society. 

The  rest  of  the  street  is  "living-room;"  it  is  filled  with  the  homes  of  the  people,  with  few 
exceptions,  presenting  a  remarkable  sameness  of  appearance  and  size. 


46  PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


BROAD  STREET. 


This  noble  avenue  has  been  described 
in  the  earlier  part  of  this  work  ;  but  it 
remains  to  point  out  some  of  the  many 
objects  of  interest  which  border  it. 

Its  southern  terminus  is  at  League  Is- 
land,— a  low  tract  of  land  at  the  junction 
of  the  Delaware  and  Schuylkill,  which 
was  presented  by  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
to  the  United  States  government,  a  few 
years  ago,  for  the  purposes  of  a  naval 
depot, — a  use  for  which  it  is  admirably 
adapted.  The  report  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  for  187 1,  thus  tersely  sums  up 
its  advantages : 

"A  navy  yard  so  ample  in  its  proportions,  in 
the  midst  of  our  great  coal  and  iron  region,  easy 
of  access  to  our  own  ships,  but  readily  made 
inaccessible  to  a  hostile  fleet,  with  fresh  water 
for  the  preservation  of  the  iron  vessels  so  rapidly 
growing  into  favor,  surrounded  by  the  skilled 
2     labor  of  one  of  our  chief  manufacturing  centres, 
<     will  be  invaluable  to  our  country." 
I        For  a  number  of  years  a  large  corps 
M     of  workmen  were  engaged  in  preparing 
9     the  Island  for  the  transfer  of  the  Navy 
^     Yard  from  its  old  site  at  the  foot  of 
h     Washington  Avenue. 
0        In  1875  these  preparations  were  com- 
5     pleted  and  the  removal  formally  made. 
>        The  narrow,  fresh-water  "Back  Chan- 
nel" which  separates  the  Island  from  the 
mainland   affords   excellent  accommo- 
dation for  the  monitors, — a  large  fleet  of 
those  peculiar  craft  being  usually  an- 
chored in  its  placid  waters. 

Crossing  the  back  channel  by  a  draw- 
bridge, Broad  Street  extends  northward 
through  a  low,  flat  tract  of  land  which  is 
now  occupied  by  truck-farms,  and  which 
will  require  much  labor  to  fit  it  for  build- 
ing purposes.  Two  rows  of  trees  have 
been  planted  in  the  drive  along  this  part 
of  the  street,  and  these  will  in  a  few  years 
afford  three  leafy  avenues  for  carriages. 
The  city  is  growing  but  slowly  in  this 
direction,  its  chief  extension  being  to  the 
north  and  west;  but  the  influence  of 
League  Island  may  draw  builders  south- 
ward when  the  works  are  fairly  under  way. 


PHILADELPHIA  AMD  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


47 


The  first  building  of  importance  which 
we  notice  in  going  north  on  this  street  is 
the  Baltimore  Depot,  at  Broad  and  Prime. 
We  give  the  most  familiar  designations 
of  public  objects  in  this  work,  as  those 
are  the  ones  strangers  will  wish  to  know. 
The  "  Baltimore  Depot"  is,  to  give  it  the 
benefit  of  its  full  title,  the  depot  of  the 
Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  and  Baltimore 
Railroad;  but  that  is  a  name  too  long 
for  daily  use ;  and  for  the  same  reason 
the  inquirer  is  always  directed  to  the  now 
unknown  Prime  Street,  instead  of  the 
spacious  Washington  Avenue,  on  the 
corner  of  which  the  building  really  stands. 
This  depot  is  reached  by  the  cars  of  the 
Thirteenth  and  Fifteenth  Streets  line,  and 
by  the  green  cars  of  the  Union  line,  the 
latter  running  down  Seventh  Street. 

Many  handsome  churches  diversify  the 
street  to  the  north  of  the  Baltimore  Depot, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  mention  all  in  detail. 

On  the  corner  of  Pine  Street  we  pass 
the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum, — a  charity 
incorporated  in  1821  by  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, which  has  ever  since  been  its 
chief  patron,  though  the  States  of  Mary- 
land, New  Jersey,  and  Delaware  also 
contribute  to  its  support  and  claim  a 
share  in  its  benefits. 


BETH-EDEN  CHURCH, 


AMERICAN  ACADEMY  OF  MUSIC. 


48 


PHILADELPHIA  A. YD  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


hall  to 
logical 


One  square  above,  we  pass 
the  magnificent  "Beth-Eden" 
Baptist  Church,  one  of  the 
handsomest  on  Broad  Street, 
even  without  the  spire,  which 
is  still  wanting  to  complete 
the  symmetry  of  the  design. 

Now  the  places  of  interest 
crowd  thick  and  fast  upon  the 
visitor's  attention.  Just  above 
Beth-Eden  Church  is  Horti- 
cultural Hall, — the  chosen 
home  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Horticultural  Society,  a  ven- 
erable institution,  and,  like 
so  many  other  Philadelphia 
enterprises,  the  first  of  its 
kind  in  the  country,  having 
been  established  in  1827.  It 
has  always  been  one  of  the 
most  popular  societies  in 
Philadelphia,  and  its  annual 
displays,  held  first  in  Peale's 
Museum  and  afterwards 
under  canvas  pavilions  in 
one  of  the  public  squares, 
were  once  the  most  fashion- 
able entertainments  in  the 
city.  Nor  have  they  lost 
their  attraction  yet;  for  at 
stated  seasons  they  fill  the 
spacious  auditorium  of  the 
suffocation  with  visitors  who  come  to  feast  their  eyes  upon  the  rare  floral  and  pomo- 
treasures  there  displayed. 


HORTICULTURAL  HALL. 


NEW  ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


Next  door  to  Horticultural 
Hall,  and  so  near  to  it  that  on 
grand  festive  occasions  both 
buildings  are  leased  and  con- 
nected by  a  temporary  bridge,  is 
the  American  Academy  of  Mu- 
sic, the  most  capacious  opera- 
house  in  the  United  States.  This 
building  was  completed  January 
26,  1857,  and  dedicated  on  that 
day  by  the  most  magnificent  ball 
Philadelphia  had  ever  witnessed. 
Since  that  time  it  has  been  a 
favorite  hall  with  all  the  leading 
musicians,  actors,  and  lecturers 
who  have  appeared  in  America. 
Its  architecture  is  of  the  Italian 
Byzantine  school,  such  as  is  fre- 
quently seen  in  the  northern 
parts  of  Italy.  The  auditorium 
is  one  hundred  and  two  feet 
long,  ninety  feet  wide,  and  sev- 
enty feet  high,  and  will  seat  twenty-nine  hundred  persons,  besides  providing  standing  room 


UNION  LEAGUE  BUILDING. 


LA  PIERRE  HOUSE 


i~.t\.  r-j. civile  nuuit. 

for  about  six  hundred  more.  The  arrangements  both  for  seeing  and  hearing  are  excellent ; 
acoustic  properties  being  extolled  by  all  who  have  appeared  on  its  stage. 

4 


its 


5° 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


Opposite  the  Academy  of  Music  the  Colosseum  and  the  Kiralfy  Alhambra  Palace,  two  large 
structures,  have  recently  been  erected,  and  just  above  is  the  St.  George  Hotel. 

Following  in  regular  order  after  the  St.  George  Hotel,  and  on  the  same  side  of  the  street, 
is  the  well-known  building  of  the  Union  League.  This  association  grew  out  of  a  "  Union 
Club"  which  was  formed  in  1862  for  promoting  friendly  intercourse  among  loyal  people.  The 
organization  of  the  Union  League  was  effected  in  December,  1862,  and  it  at  once  took 


NEW  MASONIC  TEMPLE. 


an  active 
part  in  all  public  meas- 
ures. It  enlisted  for  the 
United  States  Army  ten 
full  regiments  of  troops, 
distributed  over  two  mil- 
lion six  hundred  thou- 
sand copies  of  Union 
documents,  and  claimed 
to  have  carried  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  for  the 
Republican  party  by  its 
efforts  in  the  important 
election  of  1863. 

In  May,  1865,  the  pres- 
ent League  building  was 
finished,  at  a  cost,  inclu- 
ding furniture,  of  about 
two  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  It  is  of  brick,  in 
the  French  Renaissance 
style,  with  facades  of 
granite,  brick,  and  brown 
stone.  It  has  all  the  ap- 
pointmentsof  afirst-class 
club-house,  and  as  such 
has  many  patrons,  the 
list  of  members  at  the 
present  time  numbering 
nearly  two  thousand. 

The  most  prominent  of 
the  other  social  clubs  are 
the  Reform  Club,  which 
occupies  a  handsome 
white  marble  fronted 
building  on  Chestnut 
Street,  above  Fifteenth, 
and  the  Philadelphia 
Club,  occupying  the 
building  at  Thirteenth 
and  Walnut  Streets. 


Next  above  the  Union  League  building  is  an  unpretentious  and  certainly  far  from  handsome 
building,  which  formerly  contained  the  museum  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences. 

This  society  dates  from  the  year  1812,  when  it  was  founded  by  a  few  gentlemen  for  mutual 
study  into  the  laws  of  nature.  A  museum  and  library  were  among  the  first  requisites,  and  steps 
were  early  taken  to  establish  both.  The  latter  now  contains  about  twenty-three  thousand 
volumes,  and  the  former  upwards  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  specimens,  representing 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


5* 


THE  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS. 

every  department  of  zoology,  geology,  and  botany.  There  are  sixty-five  thousand  mineral- 
ogical  and  paleontological  specimens,  with  a  very  rich  collection  of  fossils.  The  botanical 
collection  is  immense  ;  that  of  shells  is  only  excelled  by  the  cabinet  of  the  British  Museum  ; 


NEW  ACADEMY  OF  FINE  ARTS. 


5* 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LPS  ENVIRONS. 


and  the  collection  of  birds  is  both 
rich  and  attractive.  It  consists  of 
more  than  thirty-one  thousand 
specimens,  and  is  probably  un- 
cqualed  by  any  collection  in 
I  i!  rope. 

This  museum  having  outgrown 
the  building  in  which  it  was  placed, 
steps  were  taken  to  erect  an  edi- 
fice adequate  for  its  wants.  A  lot 
was  secured  at  Nineteenth  and 
Race  Streets,  and  on  it  the  fine 
structure  of  which  we  present  a 
view  has  been  in  course  of  erection 
for  some  time ;  a  large  portion  of 
it  was  recently  completed  and  oc- 
cupied. The  great  value  of  the 
museum,  and  the  utter  inadequacy 
of  its  late  quarters  either  to  dis- 
play or  to  preserve  it,  brought  the 
citizens  of  Philadelphia  promptly 
to  its  assistance. 

Visitors  to  the  city  should  by  no 
means  fail  to  see  it.  It  is  open 
to  the  public  on  Tuesday  and 
Friday  afternoons,  at  which  times 
an  entrance  fee  of  ten  cents  is 
charged. 

Adjoining  the  old  Academy  of 
Natural  Sciences  stands  the  La 
Pierre  House,  one  of  the  best  hotels 
in  the  city.  It  is  six  stories  high, 
and  will  accommodate  two  hundred 
guests.  We  now  cross  Chestnut 
Street,  glance  at  the  Corinthian 
porticos  of  two  Presbyterian 
churches,  on  the  east  side  of  Broad 
Street,  one  above  and  the  other  be- 
low Chestnut  Street,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment reach  the  new  Public  Buildings 
for  law-courts  and  public  offices. 

This  enormous  structure,  though 
a  single  building,  is  always  spoken 
of  in  the  plural.  It  was  begun  on 
the  ioth  of  August,  187 1,  and,  it  is 
estimated,  will  cost  ten  years'  time 
and  ten  million  dollars  to  complete. 
When  finished,  it  will  be  the  largest 
building  in  America,  and  probably 
the  highest  in  the  world,  being 
486^  feet  in  length,  north  and  south, 
and  470  feet  in  width,  east  and  west. 


53 


The  central  tower  will  rise  to  the  height  of  450  feet,  a  greater  height  than  any  other  spire  in  the 
world.  The  area  actually  covered  will  be  nearly  4?  acres,  not  including  a  court-yard  in  the 
centre,  200  feet  square.  Around  the  whole  will  be  a  grand  avenue  205  feet  wide  on  the  northern 
front,  and  135  feet  on  the  others.  The  general  style  of  the  building  is  the  Renaissance,  modi- 
fied to  suit  the  purposes  for  which  it  is  required.  The  basement  story  will  be  of  fine  white 
granite,  and  the  superstructure  of  white  marble  from  the  Lee  quarries,  the  whole  strongly 
backed  with  brick  and  made  perfectly  fireproof.  The  structure  will  contain  520  rooms,  and 
afford  ample  provision  for  the  present  and  future  needs  of  its  occupants.  Its  erection  is  in 
charge  of  a  commission,  of  which  Samuel  C.  Perkins  is  chairman,  and  the  architect  who 
drew  the  plan  and  has  charge  of  the  work  is  John  McArthur,  Jr. 

Near  the  northwest  corner  of  these  buildings  is  one  of  the  many  noble  charities  that  Phila- 
delphia can  boast  of.  This  is  the  School  of  Design  for  Women,  the  only  institution  of  the  kind 
in  America.  It  was  founded  in  1848,  by  Mrs.  Peter,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  women  to 
extend  their  sphere  of  usefulness  and  open  to  them  a  new  and  pleasant  means  of  support.  In 
a  great  manufacturing  city  there  is  a  constant  demand  for  new  and  elegant  designs  for  all 
branches  of  mechanic  art.  The  School  of  Design  trains  women  for  this  work,  instructing  them 
gratuitously,  and  seldom  failing  to  make  them  experts  in  the  business  of  mechanical  drawing. 

In  a  year  or  two  this  part  of  Broad  Street  will  be  unequaled  in  the  State  for  the  number  and 
beauty  of  its  public  edifices.  On  the  corner  of  Filbert  Street  the  New  Masonic  Temple  rears 
its  stately  head  high  above  the  neighboring  houses.  It  is  built  of  granite,  dressed  at  the  quarry, 
and  brought  to  the  temple  ready  to  be  raised  at  once  to  its  place ;  so  that  what  was  said  of 
Solomon's  temple  may  be  said  with  almost  equal  truth  of  this:  "There  was  neither  hammer 
nor  ax  nor  any  tool  of  iron  heard  in  the  house,  while  it  was  in  building." 

This  temple  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  breadth  by  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  length, 
with  a  side  elevation  of  ninety  feet  above  the  pavement,  its  colossal  proportions  making  it 
seem  low  even  at  this  height.  A  tower  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet  high  rises  at  one  corner. 
The  entire  building  is  devoted  to  Masonic  uses,  there  being  nine  lodge-rooms,  together  with  a 
library  and  officers'  rooms. 

Adjoining  the  Masonic  Temple  on  the  north  is  the  Arch  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
the  handsomest  church  of  this  denomination  in  the  city.  The  intersection  of  Broad  and  Arch 
Streets  is,  indeed,  noteworthy  for  its  churches.  The  pure  white  marble  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  on  the  southeast  corner,  the  rich  brown  stone  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  on  the 
northwest  corner,  and  the  green  syenite  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  on  the  southwest  corner, 
present  a  group  of  architectural  beauty  scarcely  to  be  surpassed  in  any  city. 

At  this  point  occurs  an  interruption  of  the  usual  magnificent  display  of  Broad  Street, — a 
region  of  warehouses  and  lumber-yards,  which  once  threatened  to  be  permanent,  but  to  which 
the  removal  of  tae  railroad  tracks  from  Broad  Street  gave  a  death-blow  ;  so  that  we  may  now 
hope  to  see  their  places  occupied  before  long  by  structures  in  keeping  with  the  magnificent 
plan  of  the  street.  Nevertheless,  it  must  be  confessed  that,  at  the  present  writing,  Broad  Street 
from  Arch  to  Callowhill  is  not  a  pleasant  thoroughfare.  The  new  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  just 
completed  at  Broad  and  Cherry,  will  do  much  for  this  part  of  the  street. 

At  Callowhill  Street  we  come  to  the  passenger  depot  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Rail- 
road, and  just  above  it,  but  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  the  extensive  buildings  of  the 
Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  an  establishment  which  boasts  the  proud  distinction  of  being  the 
largest,  as  it  is  among  the  oldest,  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

Spring  Garden  Street,  which  bounds  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  on  the  north,  is  one  of 
a  few  streets  which  deserve  special  notice  for  the  generous  manner  in  which  they  are  laid  out. 
From  Twelfth  to  Broad  a  beautiful  little  park  occupies  the  centre  of  the  street, — which  is  nearly 
or  quite  as  wide  as  Broad  Street  itself, — and  this  will  probably  be  continued  all  the  way  to 
Fairmount  Park,  in  a  few  years.  Below  Twelfth  the  street  is  occupied  by  a  long  line  of  market- 
houses.  Beyond  Broad  Street  it  is  lined  by  fine,  comfortable  residences,  some  of  which  are 
strikingly  handsome.    The  row  in  which  W.  B.  Bement's  house  stands,  above  Eighteenth 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LTS  ENVIRONS. 


55 


Street,  shown  in  our  illustration,  is  especially  noticeable.  Girard  Avenue  is  laid  out  in  the 
same  way.  A  granite  monument  erected  April  19,  1872,  by  the  Washington  Grays,  to  the 
memory  of  their  fallen  comrades,  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  avenue,  just  below  Broad. 

On  the  southwest  corner  of  Broad  and  Green  Streets  we  pass  the  Central  High  School, — a 
plain  but  not  inelegant  brick  edifice, — and  on  the  northwest  corner  a  handsome  Presbyterian 
church,  built  in  the  Norman  style  of  architecture.  Beside  this  stands  the  Jewish  synagogue 
Rodef  Shalom,  a  good  specimen  of  the  Saracenic  style,  and  a  very  handsome  though  very 
peculiar  building. 

Above  this  point,  the  section  of  Broad  Street  extending  from  Fairmount  Avenue  to  Columbia 
Avenue,  a  distance  of  about  a  mile,  is  lined  with  handsome  private  residences,  and  is  a  favorite 
drive  and  promenade.  On  Sunday  afternoons  the  sidewalks  are  crowded  with  promenaders, 
and  the  whole  presents  a  scene  of  life  and  animation  strikingly  in  contrast  with  the  sabbath 
stillness  of  the  rest  of  the  city. 

A  general  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the  street  may  be  formed  from  the  view  on  page  57, 
in  which  is  embraced  the  handsome  residence  of  Joseph  Singerly.  It  is  an  exemplification  of 
what  all  Broad  Street  is  capable  of  being  made,  and  what  it  may  reasonably  be  expected  to 
become  in  the  near  future. 


SCENE  ON  NORTH   BROAD  STREET,  ABOVE  MASTER. 


We  also  present  views  of  two  of  these  strikingly  handsome  dwellings,  that  of  Richard  Smith, 
on  Broad  above  Master,  and  that  of  Henry  Disston,  on  Broad  above  Jefferson. 


56 


The  splendid  Episcopal  church  of  the  Incarnation,  at  Broad  and  Jefferson,  and  several  other 
fine  buildings  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  close  the  list  of  objects  of  interest  on  Broad  Street  lor 
the  present.    Montgomery  Avenue  is  the  northern  limit  of  continuous  building  on  this  street 


SCENE  ON  NORTH  BROAD  STREET,  ABOVE  JEFFERSON. 


just  now;  but  the  noble  boulevard  continues  straight  as  an  arrow  northward,  the  houses  are 
fast  following  it,  and  it  cannot  be  very  many  years  before  it  will  be  crowded  with  stately  build- 
ings all  the  way  to  Germantown. 


THE  CEMETERIES. 

It  is  impossible  in  a  work  of  this  kind  to  do  justice  to  the  many  beautiful  cemeteries  in 
which  repose  the  dead  of  the  great  city.  We,  can,  however,  direct  the  visitor  to  a  few  of  the 
more  prominent  ones,  and  assure  him  that  a  visit  to  them  will  be  a  source  of  gratification. 
We  use  the  word  advisedly,  for  few  more  pleasant  spots  can  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Phila- 
delphia than  its  burial-places,  fitted  up  as  they  are  with  equal  taste  and  elegance. 

Laurel  Hill  Cemetery  is  confessedly  the  leading  cemetery  of  Philadelphia  in  size,  location, 
and  beauty  of  adornment.  It  is  situated  on  a  sloping  hillside  bordering  on  the  Schuylkill 
the  extensive  grounds  are  skillfully  laid  out ;  and  the  monuments  and  other  decorations  are 
as  elaborate  as  affection  could  suggest  or  munificence  bestow.  The  ground  is  divided  into 
three  sections,  known  as  North,  South,  and  Central  Laurel  Hill, — the  last  being  the  most 
recently  added  of  the  three.  The  plan  of  the  company  by  which  this  cemetery  was  estab- 
lished was  to  provide  for  its  patrons  a  resting-place  which  should  be  theirs  forever,  without 
fear  of  molestation  or  disturbance  by  the  ever-lengthening  city  streets  and  the  ever-growing 
city  trade,  and  which  they  might  therefore  ornament  freely  with  substantial  and  enduring 


57 


58 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


THE  SCHUYLKILL  RIVER  FROM  NORTH   LAUREL  HILL. 


monuments.  The  idea  was  well  carried  out  in  the  selection  of  a  site  little  available  for 
business  purposes,  and  now  secured  forever  by  its  incorporation  within  the  bounds  of  r  air- 
mount  Park  ;  and  it  was  quickly  appreciated  by  the  citizens.    The  result  is  shown  in  the 


UP  THE  SCHUYLKILL,  FROM  WEST  LAUREL  HILL. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


59 


the  original  Laurel  Hill,  is  West  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery,  an  institution  entirely  distinct  from 
the  original,  and  controlled  by  a  separate  corporation,  but  yet  owned  and  officered  to  a 


6o 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  IPS  ENVIRONS. 


large  extent  by  the  same  individuals.    In  its  arrangement  the  fundamental  idea  of  ;u 


LIEUTENANT  GREBLE'S  MONUMENT,  WOODLAND  CEMETERY. 


isolated  and  permanent  burial-place  has  been  kept  in  view,  if  possible,  more  fully  than  ever 

before. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


61 


West  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery  is  the  latest  enterprise  of  the  kind  connected  with  the  city, 
having  been  incorporated  in  November,  1869.  It  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Schuylkill, 
in  Montgomery  County,  a  short  distance  from  the  boundary-line  of  the  incorporated  city. 

Ac  present  West  Laurel  Hill  contains  one  hundred  and  ten  acres,  but  the  charter  permits 
its  increase  to  three  hundred  acres.  Under  the  management  of  persons  long  familiar  with 
the  work  done  at  the  original  Laurel  Hill,  it  is  rapidly  assuming  a  beautiful  appearance. 

A  number  of  smaller  cemeteries  are  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  Laurel  Hill,  and  some  im- 
portant ones  are  located  in  parts  of  the  city  which  have  still  a  rural  aspect.  Monument 
Cemetery,  which  was  founded  in  1837,  two  years  after  Laurel  Hill,  is  situated  at  Broad  and 
Berks  Streets,  and  is  remarkable  for  a  fine  granite  monument  to  the  joint  memories  of  Wash- 
ington and  Lafayette,  which  stands  in  the  centre,  and  gives  name  to  the  cemetery.  Still  nearer 
to  Laurel  Hill  are  Mount  Peace,  Mount  Vernon,  Glenwood,  and  several  society  cemeteries. 


THE  DREXEL  MAUSOLEUM. 


Cathedral  Cemetery,  the  great  burying-ground  of  the  Roman  Catholic  denomination,  is 
located  on  Forty-eighth  Street,  between  Girard  Avenue  and  Wyalusing  Street,  in  West  Phila- 
delphia. It  was  consecrated  to  the  purposes  of  sepulture  in  1849,  being  named  after  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  which  was  then  building.  This  cemetery  includes  forty- 
three  acres,  and  contains  some  elegant  monuments.  An  outgrowth  of  this,  the  New  Cathedral 
Cemetery,  is  situated  at  Second  Street  and  Nicetown  Lane,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  city. 

Mount  Moriah  Cemetery  is  on  Kingsessing  Avenue,  about  three  miles  from  Market  Street, 
and  is  reached  by  the  Darby  line  of  horse  cars  running  out  Walnut  Street.  It  is  quite  large, 
and  is  very  liberally  supplied  with  both  natural  and  artificial  attractions. 

The  same  line  of  cars  passes  Woodland  Cemetery,  one  of  the  most  attractive  rural  burying- 
grounds  in  the  city.  Of  the  many  imposing  monuments  in  this  cemetery,  we  present  a  view 
of  the  beautiful  mausoleum  of  the  Drexel  family,  which  is  noted  for  its  elegance  of  design — 
being  the  handsomest  structure  of  its  kind  in  this  country — and  its  fine  location,  and  one  of 
the  chaste  monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  Lieutenant  John  T.  Greble,  the  first  officer  of 
the  regular  army  to  fall  in  the  Rebellion. 


62 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


63 


FAIRMOUNT  PARK. 


Fairmount  Park,  new  though  it  is,  has  already  attained  a  reputation  second  only  to  that 
of  Central  Park,  New  York,  and  only  second  to  that  because  Fairmount  is  not  yet  old  enough 
to  be  as  widely  known. 

Fairmount  needs  no  eulogist.  It  speaks  for  itself ;  and  the  stranger  who,  with  this  book  for 
his  guide,  will  spend  a  summer  day — or,  better  still,  a  week — in  leisurely  and  appreciative 
exploration  of  its  hills  and  dales,  its  leafy  woodlands  and  sunny  slopes,  its  rippling  streams 
and  placid  river,  its  dewy  sunrise  and  dreamy  sunset,  and  the  glory  of  its  moonlight  vistas, 
will  permit  no  tongue  to  sound  its  praises  louder  than  his  own. 

We  preface  our  description  of  it  with  a  few  dry  facts  and  figures  which  it  will  be  well  to  bear 
in  mind. 

Fairmount  Park  arose  from  the  necessity  for  a  supply  of  pure  water,  the  deterioration  of 


<H  PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


MONUMENT  ERECTED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  FREDERICK  GRAFF. 

which  threatened  to  become  not  only  an  evil  but  a  grievous  calamity.     The  mills  and 


manufactories  on  the  banks  of  the 
Schuylkill  were  multiplying  rapidly, 
and  there  was  great  danger  that  in 
the  course  of  a  very  few  years  the 
river-banks  for  miles  above  the  city 
would  be  lined  with  factories  and 
workshops,  to  the  utter  ruin  of  the 
stream  on  which  the  citizens  de- 
pended for  their  supply  of  pure 
water. 

Just  in  time  to  prevent  this  catas- 
trophe, Fairmount  Park  was  con- 
ceived, and  by  degrees  executed, 
until  now  five  miles  of  the  river  and 
six  of  its  beautiful  and  important 
tributary  the  Wissahickon,  together 
with  the  high  lands  bounding  their 
immediate  valleys,  are  inclosed  and 
preserved  forever  from  all  pollution 
and  profanation. 

The  Park  now  contains  nearly 
three  thousand  acres,  being  more 
than  three  times  as  large  as  the  New 
York  Central  Park.  It  is  dedicated 
to  be  a  public  pleasure-ground  for- 
ever, and,  under  the  management 
of  a  Board  of  Commissioners,  is 
rapidly  growing  in  beauty  and  in- 
terest. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


65 


The  visitor  will  take  a  street-car  on  Pine,  Arch,  or  Vine  Street, — all  of  which  lines  run  to  the 
bridge  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Park,  while  the  two  last  named  connect  and  run  on  to  George's 
Hill,  at  its  western  extremity  ;  or  a  car  of  the  Green  and  Coates  Streets  line,  which  runs 


THE  LINCOLN  MONUMENT. 

from  Fourth  Street,  via  Walnut,  Eighth,  and  Fairmount  Avenue,  to  the  Fairmount  Avenue 
entrance  ;  or  a  yellow  car  of  the  Union  line,  passing  up  Ninth  Street  and  landing  him  at  the 


VIEW  ON  THE  SCHUYLKILL,  SHOWING  THE  BOAT-HOUSES  AND  LEMON  HILL. 

Brown  Street  entrance ;  or  a  Ridge  Avenue  car,  which  will  carry  him  to  the  East  Park ;  or,  if 
well  up  town,  a  Poplar  Street  or  Girard  Avenue  car,  which  will  deposit  him  at  Brown  Street  and 
Girard  Avenue  respectively.    The  Lancaster  Avenue  branch  of  the  Chestnut  and  Walnut 

■ 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


67 


Streets  line  runs  to  the  Centennial  grounds  in  the  West  Park,  and  a  branch  of  the  Market 
Street  line  has  been  extended  to  the  same  point.  All  these  termini,  except  the  extreme 
western  and  northern  ones,  are  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Fairmount  Water-Works,  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  Park.  Another  route  is  by  the  Park  accommodation  trains  of  the  Philadelphia 
and  Reading  Railroad,  which  in  summer  run  every  hour  during  the  day  and  carry  passengers 
from  the  depot  at  Thirteenth  and  Callowhill  to  Belmont,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Schuylkill. 
Accommodation  trains  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  also  run  to  Hestonville,  within  a  short 
walk  of  George's  Hill,  at  the  western  end  of  the  Park. 

Lastly,  the  visitor  can  hire  a  carriage  by  the  day  and  make  the  tour  of  the  Park  without 
fatigue  or  difficulty ;  and  for  mere  sight-seeing  this  is  much  the  best  way. 

Entering  the  Park  at  the  lower  entrance,  we  step  at  once  into  the  grounds  pertaining  to  the 
Schuylkill  Water-Works ;  and  the  works 
themselves  are  contained  in  the  building, 
or  rather  group  of  buildings,  just  before  us. 
These  works  were  first  put  in  operation  in 
1822,  though  the  city  was  first  supplied  with 
water  from  the  Schuylkill  in  1799.  Enor- 
mous engines  worked  by  water-power  force 
water  from  a  dam  in  the  river  to  the  top  of 
a  hill  in  front  of  the  building, — the  original 
"  Faire-Mount," — where  it  is  held  in  a  dis- 
tributing reservoir.  The  same  works  supply 
a  reservoir  on  Corinthian  Avenue,  near 
Girard  College.  From  a  piazza  in  the  rear 
of  the  building  a  good  view  is  obtained  of 
the  new  and  elegant  "  double  deck"  iron 
truss  bridge  which  has  just  taken  the  place  of 
the  once  celebrated  WTire  Bridge.  This  new 
bridge  is  one  of  the  most  elaborate  structures 
of  its  kind  in  this  country.  It  was  designed 
by  J.  H.  Linville,  and  erected  by  the  Key- 
stone Bridge  Company.  The  total  length  of 
the  superstructure  is  1274  feet,  the  main  span, 
over  the  river,  being  350  feet.  The  bridge 
has  an  upper  and  lower  roadway  and  side- 
walks, and  is  48  feet  in  width;  the  upper 
roadway  is  elevated  32  feet  above  Callowhill 
Street,  and  connects  Spring  Garden  Street 
on  the  east  with  Bridge  Street  on  the  west. 
The  lower  roadway  connects  Callowhill 
Street  with  Haverford  Street. 

The  grounds  immediately  surrounding  the  buildings  of  the  Water-Works  contain  several 
fountains  and  pieces  of  statuary.  The  monument  in  our  cut  is  that  of  Frederick  Graff,  the 
designer  and  first  engineer  of  the  works.  Just  above  the  Water-Works  is  a  little  dock,  whence 
in  summer  a  couple  of  miniature  steamers  ply  incessantly  on  the  river,  stopping  at  all  points 
of  interest  on  their  route. 

The  main  drive  of  the  Park  begins  at  Green  Street,  passing,  just  inside  of  the  entrance,  a 
new  building  designed  for  an  art  gallery,  and  thence  running  down  nearly  to  the  bank  of  the 
Schuylkill. 

Next,  crossing  an  open  space  ornamented  by  a  bronze  statue  of  Lincoln,  erected  by  the 
•  Lincoln  Monument  Association,  in  the  fall  of  1871,  we  come  to  another  hill,  covered  with  trees, 
among  which  go  winding  paths,  and  under  which  green  grass  and  flowering  shrubs  combine 


FOUNTAIN  NEAR  BROWN  STREET  ENTRANCE. 


68 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


their  attractions,  while  around  the  base  of  the  hill  flowers  bloom  and  fountains  play,  and  the 


CONNECTING  RAILROAD  BRIDGE,  I'AIKMOUNT  PARK. 

curving  drive  leads  a  glittering  host  of  carriages.  This  is  Lemon  Hill,  and  on  its  summit  is 
the  mansion  in  which  Robert  Morris  had  his  home  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  Here 
the  great  financier  loved  to  dwell.    Here  he  entertained  many  men  whose  names  were  made 


FAIRMOUNT  PARK,  FROM  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD  BRIDGE. 

illustrious  by  those  stirring  times.    Hancock,  Franklin,  the  elder  Adams,  members  of  the 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


69 


ENTRANCE  AT  EGGLESFIELD. 


merly  called  "Sedgely  Park." 
Here  stands  a  small  frame  build- 
ing known  as  "Grant's  Cottage," 
because  it  was  used  by  that  gen- 
eral as  his  head-quarters  at  City 
Point.  It  was  brought  here  at  the 
close  of  the  war. 

From  this  hill  there  is  an  excel- 
lent view  of  the  Schuylkill  Water- 
Works,  which  stand  in  a  ravine 
just  beyond  it.  At  its  foot  is  the 
Girard  Avenue  Bridge,  an  elegant 
iron  structure,  the  work  of  Clarke, 
Reeves  &  Co.,  of  the  Phcenix  Iron 
Works,  which  connects  the  •  East 
and  West  Parks.  This  bridge  was 
opened  for  travel  July  4,  1874.  It 
is  1000  feet  long  by  100  feet  wide, 
and  52  feet  above  mean  water  mark. 
It  consists  of  five  spans  constructed 
of  Pratt  trusses.  The  roadway  is 
of  granite  blocks,  and  is  67J  feet 
wide,  and  the  sidewalks,  each  i6i 
feet  wide,  are  paved  with  slate,  with 
encaustic  tile  borders.  The  balus- 
trade and  cornice  are  ornamented 


Continental  Congress,  officers  of  the 
army  and  navy,  and  many  of  the 
foremost  citizens  met  frequently 
under  this  hospitable  roof.  Here, 
busy  in  peace  as  in  war,  he  after- 
wards planned  those  magnificent 
enterprises  which  were  his  finan- 
cial ruin;  and  from  here  he  was 
led  away  to  prison,  the  victim  of 
laws  equally  barbarous  and  absurd, 
which,  because  a  man  could  not  pay 
what  he  owed,  locked  him  up  lest 
he  might  earn  the  means  to  dis- 
charge his  debt. 

The  fortunes  of  the  once  magni- 
ficent mansion  have  fallen,  like 
those  of  its  magnificent  owner.  It 
is  now  a  restaurant, where  indifferent 
refreshments  are  dealt  out  at  corre- 
spondingly high  prices ;  for  it  is  an 
axiom  that  men  pay  most  for  the 
worst  fare. 

Next,  following  the  carriage- 
drive,  which,  beginning  at  the 
Green  Street  entrance,  runs  up  the 
river,  we  come  to  a  third  hill,  for- 


VIEW  OF  SWEET  BRIER  FROM  EGGLESFIELD. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


7i 


with  bronze  panels  representing 
birds  and  foliage.  Under  this 
bridge  passes  a  carriage-way 
leading  to  the  northeast  portion  of 
the  Park,  now  called,  by  way  of 
distinction,  the  East  Park.  The 
Connecting  Railroad  Bridge,  as  it 
is  popularly  termed,  which  unites 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  with  the 
Camden  and  Amboy,  raises  its 
graceful  arches  a  little  above  the 
Girard  Avenue  Bridge,  and  through 
the  rocky  bluff  which  forms  its 
eastern  abutment  a  short  tunnel 
has  been  cut,  as  the  only  means  of 
opening  a  carriage-road  to  the  East 
Park.  This  route  was  opened  in 
the  summer  of  1871,  ana  developed 
some  of  the  loveliest  scenery  in  all 
the  Park.  A  number  of  fine  old 
country-seats  were  absorbed  in  this 
portion  of  the  grounds,  and  they 
remain  very  nearly  as  their  former 
owners  left  them.  Here  a  dis- 
tributing reservoir,  to  cover  one 
hundred  and  five  acres,  is  now 


SCHUYLKILL  BLUFFS,  BELOW  EDGELY. 


VIEW  ABOVE  SWEET  BRIER. 


being  constructed.  Continuing 
up  this  side  of  the  river,  we  come 
finally  to  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery,  and 
then  to  the  massive  stone  bridge 
over  which  the  coal-trains  of  the 
Reading  Railroad  pass  on  their 
way  to  Richmond. 

We  shall,  however,  find  more 
marks  of  improvement  by  crossing 
the  Girard  Avenue  Bridge  into  the 
West  Park. 

Below  the  Bridge,  on  the  west 
side,  is  a  tract  called  "Solitude," 
and  in  it  stands  an  ancient  house 
built  by  John  Penn,  son  of  Thomas 
Penn  and  grandson  of  William, 
and  owned  by  his  descendants  un- 
til its  purchase  by  the  Park  Com- 
missioners. Just  beyond  this,  the 
tall  stand-pipe  of  the  West  Phila- 
delphia Water-Works  forms  a  con- 
spicuous feature. 

This  tract,  containing  thirty-three 
acres,  has  been  leased  by  the  Park 
Commissioners  to  the  Zoological 
Society  of  Philadelphia,  which  has 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LPS  ENVIRONS. 


THE  ELEPHANT  HOUSE. 

been  managed  so  successfully  that,  although  but  a  few  years  old,  its  collection  is  the  finest  in 
this  country.    No  expense  has  been  spared  to  perfect  the  Garden  in  every  particular,  and  it  is 


CARNIVORA  BUILDING. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS.  73 


THE  MONKEY  HOUSE. 

fitted  up  in  a  manner  best  suited  for  the  maintenance  and  exhibition  of  birds  and  animals. 
The  Society  intends  establishing  here  a  Zoological  Garden  second  to  none  in  the  world,  and  is 


THE  BEAR  PITS. 


74 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  PIN VI RONS. 


THE  COLUMBIA  BRIDGE,  FROM  THE  WEST  PARK. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


75 


grounds  with  specimens  of  every  class  of  the  animal  kingdom.    Every  part  of  the  garden  is 


SWEET  BRIER  RAVINE.  THE  LANSDOWNE  PINES. 

interesting,  but  we  may  mention  as  the  principal  features  the  large  and  well- filled  Carnivora 
and  Monkey-Houses,  the  Bear  Pits,  the  Aviary,  and  the  Deer  Park.    All  of  these  are  already 


LOOKING  EAST  FROM  BELMONT. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


well  stocked,  and  are  constantly  receiving  fresh  accessions.  The  Garden  was  first  opened  to 
the  public  in  July,  1874,  and  has  already  become  one  of  the  most  popular  features  of  the  Park. 
The  price  of  admission  is  25  cents  for  adults,  and  10  cents  for  children. 

A  short  distance  above  the  bridge  is  the  Children's  Play-ground,  near  Sweet  Brier  Mansion. 

and  passing  this  the  road  enters  Lansdowne  and  crosses 
the  river  road  by  a  rustic  bridge,  from  which  the  beautiful 
view  of  the  Schuylkill  shown  in  our  engraving  is  had. 

The  venerable  pines  shown  in  our  sketch  mark  the  site 
of  Lansdowne  Concourse.    This  fine  estate  of  Lansdowne 
contained  two  hundred  acres,  and  was  established  by  John 
Penn,  "the  American,"  whose  nephew,  also  named  John, 
the  son  of  Richard  Penn,  built  a  stately 
mansion  here,  and  lived  in  it  during  the 
Revolutionary  war,  a  struggle  in  which  his 
sympathies  were  by  no  means  with  the  party 
that  was  finally  successful  in  wresting  from 
him  the  noble  State  which  was  his  paternal 
inheritance  and   of  which  he   had  been 
Governor. 


t 


UP  THE  SCHUYLKILL,  FROM  COLUMBIA  BRIDGE. 


Leaving  the  Concourse,  the  road  skirts  the  base 
of  Belmont  Reservoir,  and.  winding  round  a  rather 
steep  ascent,  comes  out  on  the  summit  of  George's  Hill, 
two  hundred  and  ten  feet  above  high  tide. 

This  tract,  containing  eighty-three  acres,  was  presented 
to  the  city  by  Jesse  and  Rebecca  George,  whose  ancestors  had 
held  it  for  many  generations.    As  a  memorial  of  their  generosity, 
~  %  this  spot  was  named  George's  Hill,  and  its  rare  advantages  of  scenery 

and  location  will  keep  their  name  fresh  forever.  It  is  the  grand 
objective  point  of  pleasure-parties.  Few  carriages  make  the  tour  of  the  Park  without  taking 
George's  Hill  in  their  way,  and  stopping  for  a  few  moments  on  its  summit  to  rest  their  horses 
and  let  the  inmates  feast  their  eyes  on  the  view  which  lies  before  them, — a  view  bounded 
only  by  League  Island  and  the  Delaware. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


77 


In  the  broad  meadow  which  lies  at  the  visitor's  feet  as  he  stands  on  George's  Hill,  looking 
eastward,  is  the  ground  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  which  is  fully  described  a  few  pages 
farther  on.  We  may  here  mention  that  George's  Hill  is  a  splendid  site  from  which  to  overlook 
these  grounds. 

The  carriage-road  next  brings  us  to  Belmont  Mansion.  This,  like  most  of  the  buildings  in 
the  Park,  is  of  very  ancient  date,  having  probably  been  erected  about  1745. 


A  VIEW  ON  THE  WISSAHICKON. 


This  was  the  home  of  Richard  Peters — poet,  punster,  patriot,  and  jurist — during  the  whole  of 
his  long  life.  Many  of  his  witty  sayings  are  still  extant,  as  are  also  a  number  of  his  poems ; 
while  his  eminent  services  as  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  War  during  the  Revolution,  Represent- 
ative in  Congress  subsequently,  and  Judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court  for  nearly  half  his 
life,  will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  Brilliant  as  have  been  the  assemblages  of  distinguished  guests 
at  the  many  hospitable  country-seats  now  included  within  the  bounds  of  Fairmount  Park,  the 


PHILADELPHIA  A XI)  its  BHVJROHS. 


associations  connected  with  Belmont  Mansion  outshine  all  the  rest.  Washington  was  a 
frequent  visitor;  so  was  Franklin  ;  so  were  Rittenhouse  the  astronomer,  Bartram  the  eminent 
botanist,  Robert  Morris,  Jefferson,  and  Lafayette— of  whom  a  memento  still  remains  in  the 
shape  of  a  white-walnut-tree  planted  by  his  hand  in  1824.  Talleyrand  and  Louis  Philip] 
both  visited  this  place  ;  "  Tom  Moore's  cottage"  is  just  below,  on  the  river-bank  ;  and  many 
other  great  names  might  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  Belmont,  if  we  had  room  for  them. 
Now,  alas  !  the  historic  mansion  has  degenerated  into  a  restaurant. 


FALLS  BRIDGE,  SCHUYLKILL  RIVER, 


The  view  from  the  piazza  of  the  house  is  one  which  can  scarcely  be  surpassed  in  America. 
Our  engraving,  though  drawn  by  one  of  the  first  landscape  painters  in  the  country,  gives  but 
a  faint  idea  of  its  beauty.  It  is  one  of  those  grand  effects  of  nature  and  art  combined  which 
man  must  acknowledge  his  inability  to  represent  adequately  on  paper. 

Leaving  Belmont,  the  road  passes  through  a  comparatively  uninteresting  section  to  Cha- 
mouni,  with  its  lake  and  its  concourse,  and  the  northern  limits  of  the  Park.  Near  the  lake 
it  intersects  the  Falls  road,  and  this  takes  us  down  to  the  Schuylkill,  which  we  cross  by  a 
bridge,  and  continue  up  the  east  bank  of  the  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Wissahickon. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


79 


One  of  the  most  beautiful  walks  in  the  Park  extends  from  this  point  through  Belmont  Glen  to 
the  Reading  Railroad  and  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill.  It  debouches  at  the  offices  of  the  Park 
Commission,  where  the  visitor's  eye  is  attracted  by  a  pair  of  colossal  bronzes,  representations 
of  the  winged  horse  "Pegasus."*  These  figures  were  made  to  adorn  the  Grand  Academy  in 
Vienna,  but  were  found  to  be  too  large  for  the  position  assigned  them.  They  were  purchased 
by  a  number  of  American  gentlemen,  and  presented  to  the  Park ;  where  they  will  eventually 
mount  guard  at  one  of  the  main 
entrances. 

The  Falls  of  Schuylkill  exist 
only  in  history  now,  but  before  the 
Fairmount  dam  was  built  they 
were  a  beautiful  reality.  The 
cascade,  which  was  formed  by  a 
projecting  ledge  of  rock,  was 
slight,  but  in  seasons  of  high 
water  it  made  a  fine  display. 

A  little  above  the  Falls  is  the 
"Battle-Ground," — the  scene  of 
an  intended  battle  between  the 
Americans  under  Lafayette  and 
the  British  under  General  Grant. 
The  latter,  however,  unlike  his 
distinguished  modern  namesake, 
allowed  himself  to  be  outgeneraled, 
and  Lafayette  succeeded  in  exe- 
cuting a  masterly  retreat, — that 
being  the  only  thing  he  could  do 
under  the  circumstances.  Here, 
also,  was  fought  the  memorable 
and  disastrous  battle  of  German- 
town. 

The  Wissahickon  is  a  lovely 
stream  winding  through  a  narrow 
valley  between  steep  and  lofty 
hills  which  are  wooded  to  their 
summits,  and  have  the  appear- 
ance of  a  mountain -gorge 
hundreds  of  miles  from  civilization, 
rather  than  a  pleasure-retreat 
within  the  limits  of  a  great  city. 

In  its  lower  reaches  the  stream 
is  calm  and  peaceful,  and  boats 
are  kept  at  the  two  or  three  small 
hostelries  which  stand  on  its 
banks,  for   the  convenience  of 

those  who  wish  to  row  on  the  placid  waters.  This  calm  beauty  changes  as  the  valley  ascends, 
and  we  soon  find  the  stream  a  mountain  torrent,  well  in  keeping  with  its  picturesque  situation 
and  surroundings.  So  with  alternate  rush  of  torrent  and  placid  beauty  of  calm  reaches  the 
romantic  stream  flows  down  from  the  high  table-lands  of  Chestnut  Hill  to  its  embouchure  in 
the  valley  of  the  Schuylkill. 

A  few  manufacturing  establishments  have  invaded  the  sequestered  valley ;  but  the  Park 
Commissioners  have  taken  measures  to  do  away  with  them  all  after  a  certain  number  of  years, 
*  Since  transferred  to  the  entrance  to  Memorial  Hall. 


WISSAHICKON  CREEK. 


8o 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


UP  THE  WISSAHICKON — MEGARGEE's  PAPER  MILL. 


and  restore  the  Wissahickon  as  nearly  as  possible  to  its  pristine  wildness  and  unfettered  beauty. 
One  of  these  invaders — Edward  Megargee's  paper  mill — is  shown  in  our  illustration.  Like 
most  of  the  others,  it  is  now  owned  by  the  city,  but  will  be  operated  by  the  heirs  of  its  late 
owner  until  the  year  1882,  after  which  it  will  be  removed. 


THE  WISSAHICKON — BRIDGE  AT  VALLEY  GREEN.     THE  WISSAHICKON — BRIDGE  NEAR  MT.  AIRY 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS.  Si 


THE  PIPE  BRIDGE  OVER  THE  WISSAHICKON. 


We  may  briefly  notice  a  few  of  the  many  points  of  interest  in  this  romantic  glen,  some  of 
which  our  artists  have  sketched  in  a  manner  which  renders  pen-and-ink  descriptions  super- 
fluous. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  Schuylkill,  the  drive  up  the  Wissahickon  passes  the  "Maple  Spring" 
restaurant,  where  a  curious  collection  of  laurel-roots  deftly  shaped  into  all  manner  of  strange 
or  familiar  objects,  the  work  of  the  proprietor,  will  repay  a  visit. 

A  little  above  this,  a  lane  descends  through  the  woods  to  the  Hermit's  Well,  which  is  said  to 


PRO  BONO  PUBLICO. 


6 


UP  THE  WISSAHICKON. 


82 


have  been  dug  by  John  Kelpius,  a  German  Pietist,  who  settled  down  here,  with  forty  followers, 
two  hundred  years  ago,  and  lived  a  hermit's  life,  waiting  for  the  fulfillment  of  his  dreams. 
He  and  his  associates  gave  names  to  many  of  the  scenes  about  here,  among  them  the  Hermit's 
Fool,  of  which  we  give  an  illustration. 

Three  and  a  half  miles  above  its  mouth  the  stream  is  crobsed  by  a  beautiful  structure  called 
the  Pipe  Bridge,  six  hundred  and  eighty-four  feet  long  and  one  hundred  feet  above  the  creek. 
The  water-pipes  that  supply  Germantown  with  water  form  the  chords  of  the  bridge,  the  whole 


THE  WISSAHICKON  AT  CHESTNUT  HILL. 


being  bound  together  with  wrought-iron.  It  was  designed  by  Frederick  Graff,  and  constructed 
under  his  superintendence.  A  hundred  yards  above  this  is  the  wooden  bridge  shown  in  our 
engraving.    Near  this  is  the  Devil's  Pool,  a  basin  in  Creshein  Creek,  a  small  tributary  of  the 

Wissahickon. 

The  next  point  of  interest  is  the  stone  bridge  at  Valley  Green,  and  half  a  mile  beyond  this 
is  the  first  public  drinking-fountain  erected  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  placed  here  in  1854,  and 
was  the  precursor  of  a  numerous  and  beneficial  following. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


83 


UP  THE  WISSAHICKON — THE  DRIVE. 


A  mile  and  a  half  of  rugged  scenery  ensues,  terminating  in  the  open  sunlight  and  beautiful 
landscapes  of  Chestnut  Hill,  where  the  end  of  the  Park  is  reached. 
Watson,  in  his  "Annals  of  Philadelphia,"  speaks  thus  of  "The  Wissahickon :" 
"This  romantic  creek  and  scenery,  now  so  much  visited  and  familiar  to  many,  was  not  long  since  an  extremely 
wild,  unvisited  place,  to  illustrate  which  I  give  these  facts,  to  wit:  Enoch  and  Jacob  Rittenhouse,  residents  there, 
told  me  in  1845  that  when  they  were  boys  the  place  had  many  pheasants;  that  they  snared  a  hundred  of  them 


THE  WISSAHICKON — THE  HERMIT'S  POOL. 


HEMLOCK  GLEN 


84 


PHILADELPHIA  AMD  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


MOUNT  PLEASANT.— FORMERLY  OWNED   BY   BENEDICT  ARNOLD. 


in  a  season  ;  they  also  pot  many  partridges. 
The  creek  had  many  excellent  fish,  such 
as  large  sunfish  and  perch.  The  summer 
wild  ducks  came  there  regularly,  and  were 
shot  often;  also,  some  winter  ducks.  They 
then  had  no  visitors  from  the  city,  and  only 
occasionally  from  Germantown.  There 
they  lived  quietly  and  retired;  now  all  is 
public  and  bustling,— all  is  changed. 

The  natural  beauties  of  Fairmount 
Park  are  now  its  chief  attraction, 
but  these  can  be  greatly  enhanced 
by  the  discreet  addition  of  works  of 
art  in  the  shape  of  statues,  fountains, 
busts,  etc.  We  are  happy  to  state 
that  a  society  under  the  name  of  the 
Fairmount  Park  Art  Association  has 
recently  been  established  with  the 
object  of  facilitating  this  adornment, 
and  already  embraces  a  large  num- 
ber of  prominent  citizens  among  its 
members.  It  should  be  the  pride  of 
every  citizen  to  encourage  its  efforts. 
This  Association  has  already  erected 
several  handsome  bronze  pieces,  and 
placed  a  fine  marble  statue  and  sev- 
eral paintings  in  the  Art  Gallery  in 
the  Park. 


mm 


GLEN  FERN,  WISSAHICKON. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LPS  ENVIRONS. 


THE  CENTENNIAL  EXHIBITION  GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS. 


In  the  selection  of  Philadelphia  as  the  place  where 
the  Centennial  Exhibition  should  be  held,  two  impor- 
tant and  desirable  results  were  reached  :  it  placed  the 
Exhibition  at  the  "  birthplace  of  liberty,"  and  secured 
one  of  the  most  eligible  sites  for  the  purpose  in  the 
country.  Rich  in  historical  associations,  easily  ac- 
cessible from  all  points,  and  embracing  a  plateau 
affording  ample  space  for  the  main  and  incidental 
buildings,  Fairmount  Park  presents  every  feature  that 
could  be  desired. 

The  Centennial  grounds  cover  236  acres,  and  ex- 
tend from  the  foot  of  George's  Hill  almost  to  the 
Schuylkill  River,  and  north  to  Columbia  Bridge  and 
Belmont  Mansion.  They  can  be  reached  directly 
by  the  following  lines  of  horse-cars :  Chestnut  and 
Walnut,  Market,  Arch,  Race  and  Vine,  and  Girard 
Avenue  ;  and  by  steam-cars  via  the  Reading  Railroad 
and  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

Approaching  the  Exhibition  grounds  by  way  of 
Elm  Avenue,  we  first  enter  the  Main  Building, 
which  is  1880  feet  long,  464  feet  wide,  48  feet  to  the 
cornice,  and  70  feet  to  the  roof-tree,  covering  an  area 
of  20  acres.  At  each  corner  a  square  tower  runs  up 
to  a  level  with  the  roof,  and  four  more  are  clustered 
in  the  centre  of  the  edifice,  and  rise  to  the  height  of 
120  feet  from  a  base  of  48  feet  square.  These  flank 
a  central  dome  120  feet  square  at  base,  and  springing 
on  iron  trusses  of  delicate  and  graceful  design  to  an 
apex  96  feet  above  the  pavement, — the  exact  elevation 
of  the  interior  of  the  old  Capitol  rotunda.  The  tran- 
sept, the  intersection  of  which  with  the  nave  forms 
this  pavilion,  is  416  feet  long.  On  each  side  of  it  is 
another  of  the  same  length  and  100  feet  in  width, 
with  aisles  of  48  feet  each.  Longitudinally,  the  divi- 
sions of  the  interior  correspond  with  these  transverse 
lines.  A  nave  120  feet  wide  and  1832  feet  long — said 
to  be  unique  for  combined  length  and  width — is  ac- 
companied by  two  side  avenues  ioo  feet  wide,  and  as 
many  aisles  48  feet  wide.  An  exterior  aisle  24  feet 
wide,  and  as  many  high  to  a  half-roof  or  clere-story, 
passes  round  the  whole  building  except  where  inter- 
rupted by  the  main  entrances  in  the  centres  of  the 
sides  and  ends,  and  a  number  of  minor  ones  between. 
The  iron  columns  supporting  the  roof  number,  in 
all,  672. 

A  breadth  of  30  feet  is  left  to  the  main  promenades 
along  and  athwart,  of  15  feet  to  the  principal  ones  on 
either  side,  and  of  10  feet  to  all  the  others.  The 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


berths  of  the  nations  run  athwartship,  or  north  and 
south  as  the  -real  ark  is  anchored.  The  classes 
of  objects  are  separated  by  lines  running  in  the  op- 
posite direction.  Small  balconies  of  observation  are 
the  only  galleries  of  the  Main  Building.  Those  at 
the  different  stages  of  the  central  towers  are  highly 
attractive  to  students  who  prefer  the  general  to  the 
particular,  or  who,  exhausted  for  the  time,  retire  to 
clear  their  brains  from  the  dust  of  detail  and  muster 
their  faculties  for  another  charge  on  the  vast  army  of 
art.  From  this  perch  one  may  survey  mankind  from 
China  to  Peru. 

Four  miles  of  water-  and  drainage-pipe  underlie  the 
2\\  acres  of  plank  floor  in  this  building.  The  pillars 
and  trusses  contain  3600  tons  of  iron.  The  contract 
for  it  was  awarded  in  July,  1874,  and  it  was  completed 
in  eighteen  months,  being  ready  for  the  reception  of 
goods  early  in  January  last.  The  cost  was  $1,600,000. 

Leaving  the  Main  Building  at  its  west  end,  we  pass 
to  Machinery  Halj.,  little  smaller  than  its  neighbor, 
it  being  1402  feet  long  by  360  feet  wide,  covering  an 
area  of  14  acres.  The  main  cornice  is  40  feet  in 
height  upon  the  outside ;  the  interior  height  being  70 
feet  in  the  two  main  longitudinal  avenues  and  40  feet 
in  the  one  central  and  two  side  aisles.  The  avenues 
are  each  90  feet  in  width,  and  the  aisles  60,  with  a 
space  of  15  feet  for  free  passage  in  the  former  and  10 
in  the  latter.  A  transept  90  feet  broad  crosses  the 
main  building  into  that  for  hydraulics,  bringing  up 
against  a  tank  60  by  160  feet,  whereinto  the  water- 
works precipitate,  Versailles  fashion,  a  cataract  35 
feet  high  by  40  wide. 

The  substitution  of  timber  for  iron  demands  a 
closer  placing  of  the  pillars.  They  are  consequently 
but  16  feet  apart  "  in  the  row,"  the  spans  being  cor- 
respondingly more  contracted.  This  has  the  compen- 
sating advantage,  aesthetically  speaking,  of  offering 
more  surface  for  decorative  effect,  and  the  opportunity 
has  been  fairly  availed  of.  The  coloring  of  the  roof, 
tie-rods,  and  piers  expands  over  the  turmoil  below  the 
cooling  calm  of  blue  and  silver.  The  external  appear- 
ance of  Machinery  Hall  is  fully  as  pleasing  as  that  of 
the  building  we  just  left.  The  one  central  and  four 
terminal  towers,  with  their  open,  kiosk-like  tops,  are 
really  graceful,  and  the  slender  spires  which  sur- 
mount them  are  preferable  to  the  sheet-iron  turrets. 
Owing  to  the  necessity  of  projecting  an  annex  for 
hydraulic  engines  from  one  side  of  the  middle,  the 
building  is  distinguished  by  the  possession  of  a  front. 
The  cost  of  the  construction  of  Machinery  Hall  was  $800,000. 

Machinery  Hall  has  illustrated,  from  its  earliest  days,  the  process  of  development  by  gem- 
mation.   Southward,  towards  the  sun,  it  has  shot  forth  several  lusty  sprouts.    The  hydraulic 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


S7 


avenue  which  we  have  mentioned  covers  an  acre,  being  208  by  210  feet.  Cheek  by  jowl  with 
water  is  its  neighbor  fire,  safe  behind  bars  in  the  boiler-house  of  the  big  engine ;  and  next 
branches  out,  over  another  acre  and  more,  or  48,000  square  feet,  the  domain  of  shoes  and 
leather  under  a  roof  of  its  own. 

Including  galleries,  and  the  leather,  fire,  and  water  suburbs,  this  structure  affords  more  than 


AGRICULTURAL  BUILDING. 

15  acres  of  space.  We  can  here  become  learned  in  the  biography  of  everything  a  machine 
can  create,  from  an  iron-clad  to  a  penknife  or  a  pocket-handkerchief.  In  the  centre  of  the 
immense  hall  stands  the  demiurgos  of  this  nest  of  Titans,  an  engine  of  1400  horse-power,  and 
the  largest  hitherto  known. 

Following  Belmont  Avenue,  the  Appian  Way  of  the  Centennial,  to  the  northwest,  we 


HORTICULTURAL  HALL. 

penetrate  a  mob  of  edifices,  fountains,  restaurants,  government  offices,  etc.,  and  reach  the 
Agricultural  Building, — the  palace,  of  the  farmer.  The  building  is  worthy  of  a  Centennial 
agricultural  fair:  540  by  820  feet,  with  io^  acres  under  roof,  it  equals  the  halls  of  a  dozen 
State  cattle-shows.  The  style  is  Gothic,  the  three  transepts  looking  like  those  of  as  many 
cathedrals.    The  nave  is  125  feet  wide,  with  an  elevation  of  75  feet.    The  materials  of  this 


88 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


BRIDGE  OVER  LANDSDDWNF.  RAVINE. 

bucolic  temple  arc  wood  and  glass.  The  con- 
tract price  was  $300,000.  Its  contents  are  more 
cosmopolitan  than  could  have  been  anticipated 
when  it  was  planned. 

Besides  the  indoor  portion  of  the  world's  farm- 
steading,  a  barnyard  of  corresponding  magnitude 
is  close  at  hand,  where  all  domestic  animals  are 
accommodated,  and  the  Weirs,  Landseers,  and 
Bonheurs  can  find  many  novelties  for  the  port- 


folio. A  race-track,  too,  is  an  ad- 
dendum of  course. 

From  this  exhibition  of  man's 
power  over  the  fruits  of  the  earth 
and  the  beasts  of  the  field,  we  cross 
a  ravine  where  the  forest  is  allowed 
to  disport  itself  in  ignorance  of  his 
yoke,  and  ascend  another  eminence 
to  Horticultural  Hall. 

No  site  could  have  been  more 
happily  chosen  for  this  beautiful 
congress-hall  of  flowers.  It  occupies 
a  bluff  that  overlooks  the  Schuylkill 
100  feet  below  to  the  eastward,  and 
is  bounded  by  the  deep  channels  of 
a  pair  of  brooks  equidistant  on  the 
north  and  south  sides.  Up  the  banks 
of  these  clamber  the  sturdy  arboreal 
natives  as  though  to  shelter  in  warm 
embrace  their  delicate  kindred  from 
abroad.  Broad  walks  and  terraces 
prevent  their  too  close  approach  and 
the  consequent  exclusion  of  sunlight. 

For  the  expression  of  its  pur- 
pose, with  all  the  solidity  and  grace 
consistent  with  that,  the  Moresque 
structure  before  us  is  not  excelled 
by  any  within  the  grounds.  Enter- 
ing from  the  side  by  a  neat  flight  of 


horticultural  hall — interior  view. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


S9 


steps  in  dark  marble,  we  find  ourselves  in  a  gayly-tiled  vestibule  30  feet  square,  between 
forcing-houses  each  100  by  30  feet.  Advancing,  we  enter  the  great  conservatory,  230  by  80 
feet,  and  55  high,  much  the  largest  in  this  country,  and  but  a  trifle  inferior  in  height  to  the 
palm-houses  of  Chatsworth  and  Kew.    A  gallery  20  feet  from  the  floor  carries  us  up  among 


MEMORIAL  HALL. 

the  dates  and  cocoanuts.  The  decorations  of  this  hall  are  in  keeping  with  the  external  design. 
The  dimensions  of  the  building  are  380  feet  by  193  feet. 

Outside  promenades,  four  in  number,  and  each  100  feet  long,  lead  along  the  roofs  of  the 
forcing-houses,  and  contribute  to  the  portfolio  of  lovely  views  that  enriches  the  Park.  Other 
prospects  are  offered  by  the  upper  floors  of  the  east  and  west  fronts;  the  aerial  terrace  em- 
bracing in  all  17,000  square 
feet.  Restaurants,  recep- 
tion-rooms, and  offices  oc- 
cupy the  two  ends.  The 
cost  of  the  building  was 
#250,000. 

A  few  years  hence  this 
winter-garden  will  consti- 
tute a  great  attraction  at 
the  Park.  It  will  by  that 
time  be  effectively  supple- 
mented by  35  surrounding 
acres  of  out  -  door  horti- 
culture. 

Leaving  Horticultural 
Hall,  we  cross  the  bridge 
spanning  the  picturesque  JUDGES'  pavilion. 

Landsdowne  Ravine  to  Memorial  Hall,  which,  as  its  name  implies,  contemplates  indefinite 
durability.  What  Virginia  and  Massachusetts  granite,  in  alliance  with  Pennsylvania  iron,  on 
a  basis  of  $1,500,000,  can  effect  in  that  direction,  seems  to  have  been  done.  The  facade  is  in 
ultra-Renaissance,  with  arch  and  balustrade  and  open  arcade.  The  square  central  tower,  or 
what  under  a  circular  dome  would  be  the  drum,  is  quite  in  harmony  with  the  main  front  in 


9°  PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


proportion  and  outline,  and  renders  the  unity  of  the  building  very  striking.  That  its  object, 
of  supplying  the  best  light  for  pictures  and  statuary,  is  not  lost  sight  of,  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  three-fourths  of  the  interior  space  is  lighted  from  above,  and  the  residue  has  an  ample 


women's  pavilion. 


supply  from  lofty  windows.    The  figures  of  America,  Art,  Science,  etc.,  stud  the  dome  and 
parapet,  while  eagles  with  wings  outspread  decorate  the  four  corners  of  the  corner  towers. 
The  eight  arched  windows  of  the  corner  towers.  \2\  by  34  feet,  are  utilized  for  art-display. 


GOVERN  M  E  NT  BUILDING. 


Munich  fills  two  with  stained  glass  :  England  also  claims  a  place  in  them.  The  iron  doors  of 
the  front  are  inlaid  with  bronze  panels  bearing  the  insignia  of  the  States. 

That  the  art-section  of  the  Exposition  would  fill  a  building  365  by  210  feet,  affording  89,000 
square  feet  of  wall-surface  for  pictures,  must,  when  first  proposed,  have  struck  the  most  imagi- 
native of  the  projectors  as  a  dream.  The  actual  result  proved  it  indispensably  necessary  to 
provide  an  additional  building  of  very  nearly  equal  dimensions,  or  349  by  186  feet,  to  receive 
the  contributions  offered,  and  this  after  the  promulgation  of  a  strict  requirement  that  "all 
works  of  art  must  be  of  a  high  order  of  merit." 

This  building  is  on  the  rear,  or  north  side,  of  Memorial  Hall  proper,  and  is  the  first  portion 
of  the  fine-art  department  that  meets  the  eye  of  one  coming  from  Horticultural  Hall.   It  is  built 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


or 


numerous  ones  which  surround  them,  and  descend,  so  to  speak,  from  the  capitol  to  the  capital. 

Directly  opposite  the  entrance,  but  beyond  the  north  line  of  the  great  halls,  stands  the 
Judges  Pavilion.  In  this  capacious  "box,"  152  by  115  feet,  the  grand  and  petit  juries  of  the 
tribunal  of  industry  and  taste  have  abundant  room  for  deliberation  and  discussion. 

Place  aux  dames  /  First  among 
the  independent  structures  we 
must  note  the  Women's  Pavilio7i. 
To  the  trait  of  modesty  the  build- 
ing has  added  that  of  grace.  The 
interior,  however,  is  more  light 
and  airy  in  effect  than  the  ex- 
terior. The  ground-plan  is  very 
simple,  blending  the  cross  and 
the  square.  Nave  and  transept 
are  identical  in  dimensions,  each 
being  64  by  192  feet.  The  four 
angles  formed  by  their  intersec- 
tion are  nearly  filled  out  by  as 
many  sheds  48  feet  square.  A 
cupola  springs  from  the  centre  to 
a  height  of  90  feet.  An  area  of 
30,000  square  feet  strikes  us  as  a 
modest  allowance  for  the  display 
of  female  industry. 

Uncle  Sam  confronts  the  ladies 
from  over  the  way,  a  ferocious 
battery  of  fifteen-inch  Rodman 
guns  and  other  monsters  of  the 


NEW  JERSEY  BUILDING. 


same  family  frowning  defiance  to  their  smiles  and  wiles.  The  Government  Building  was 
erected  to  "  illustrate  the  functions  and  administrative  faculties  of  the  government  in  time  of 
peace,  and  its  resources  as  a  war-power."    To  do  this  properly,  he  has  found  two  acres  of 


92 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


NEW   YORK  lillLDINC, 


ground  none  too  much.  The  building,  business-like  and  capable-looking,  was  erected  in  a 
style  and  with  a  degree  of  economy  creditable  to  the  officers  of  the  board  selected  from  the 
Departments  of  War,  Agriculture,  the  Treasury,  Navy,  Interior,  and  Post-Office,  and  from  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  Appended  to  it  are  smaller  structures  for  the  illustration  of  hospital 
and  laboratory  work.  In  the  rear 
of  the  lordly  palace  of  the  Federal 
government  stand  the  humbler  tene- 
ments of  the  States.  A  line  of  these, 
drawn  up  in  close  order,  shoulder 
to  shoulder,  is  ranged,  hard  by, 
against  the  tall  fence  that  incloses 
the  grounds.  In  this  row  are  em- 
braced Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wis- 
consin, Michigan,  New  Hampshire, 
Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  and 
Delaware.  New  Jersey  and  Kansas 
stand  proudly  apart,  officer-like,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  avenue  ;  the 
regimental  canteen,  in  the  shape 
of  the  Southern  Restaurant,  jostling 
them  rather  closely.  Ohio's  pavilion 
plays  the  leading  grenadier  well; 
but  little  Delaware,  not  content  with 
the  obscure  post  of  file-closer,  swells 

at  the  opposite  end  of  the  line  into  dimensions  of  90  by  75  feet,  with  a  cupola  that,  if  placed  at 
Dover,  would  be  visible  from  half  her  territory.  Pennsylvania's  picturesque  building  stands 
on  the  south  side  of  Fountain  Avenue.  Her  Educational  Department  is  represented  by 
another  building,  near  Memorial  Hall. 

These  buildings  are  all  of  wood,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  Ohio,  which  exhibits  some  of 

the  fine  varieties  of  stone  furnished 
by  the  quarries  of  that  State.  All 
have  two  floors,  save  the  Massachu- 
setts cottage,  a  quaint  affair  modeled 
after  the  homes  of  the  past.  The 
State  of  New  York  plays  orderly 
sergeant,  and  stands  in  front  of 
Delaware.  She  is  very  fortunate  in 
the  site  assigned  her,  at  the  junction 
of  State  Avenue  with  several  prom- 
enades, and  her  building  is  not  un- 
worthy so  prominent  a  position. 

From  the  Empire  State  we  step 
into  the  domain  of  Old  England. 
Three  of  her  rural  homesteads  rise 
before  us,  red-tiled,  many-gabled, 
lattice-windowed,  and  telling  of  a 
kindly  winter  with  external  chim- 
neys that  care  not  for  the  hoarding 
of  heat.  It  is  a  bit  of  the  island 
peopled  by  some  of  the  islanders.  Great  Britain's  headquarters  are  made  particularly  attract- 
ive, not  more  by  the  picturesqueness  of  the  buildings  than  by  the  extent  and  completeness 
of  her  exhibit. 

Japan  is  a  close  neighbor  to  England.    Besides  the  dwelling  for  its  employes,  the  Japan- 


OHIO  BUILDING. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


93 


BRITISH  BUILDINGS. 


ese  government 
has  erected  in  a 
more  central  situ- 
ation, close  to  the 
Judges'  Pavilion, 
another  building. 
The  style  of  this 
is  equally  charac- 
teristic. Together, 
the  two  structures 
do  what  houses 
may  toward  mak- 
ing us  acquainted 
with  the  public 
and  private  me- 
nage of  Japan. 
The  delicacy  of 

the  Asiatic  touch  is  exemplified  in  the  wood-carving  upon  the  doorways  and  pediments  of  the 

  Japanese  dwell- 

^  -_^dEgj^  Jfjfzzfj  ------  : :  Arabesques 

^         ~2  ~  ~  '-:  ^  *  "  '  and  reproduc- 

tions of  subjects 
from  Nature  are 
executed  with  a 
clearness  and  pre- 
cision such  as  we 
are  accustomed 
to  admire  on  the 
lacquered- w a  r  e 
cabinets  and  the 
bronzes  of  Japan. 

In  the  neatlittle 
Swedish  School- 
house,  of  un- 
painted  wood, 
that  stands  next 

to  the  main  Japanese  building,  we  have  another  meeting  of  antipodes.  This  school-house  is 
attractive  for  neat- 
ness and  peculiar- 
ity of  construction. 
It  was  erected  by 
Swedish  carpenters. 

The  contempora- 
ries and  ancient  foes 
of  the  Northmen 
have  a  memorial  in 
the  beautiful  Al- 
hambra-like  edifice 
of  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment. Sflamhas 
no  architecture  so 
distinctive  as  that 

of  the  Moors,  and  fountain  of  the  catholic  total  abstinence  union. 


JAPANESE  BUILDING. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


95 


the  selection  of  their  style  for  the  present  purpose  was  in  good  taste.  Seated  not  far  from  the 
Spainish  building,  and  side  by  side  with  that  of  Brazil,  are  the  handsome  German  buildings. 
The  larger  building  is  appropriated  especially  to  the  use  of  the  German  Commissioners  ;  the 
two  smaller  ones  are  devoted  chiefly  to  the  exhibition  of  wines  and  chemicals. 

France  is  represented  by  three         ^===============^==============^  _ 


small  structures, — one  for  the  gen- 
eral use  of  the  French  commission, 
another  for  the  special  display  of 
bronzes,  and  the  third  for  another 
art-manufacture  for  which  France 
is  becoming  eminent, — stained  glass. 
This  overflowing  from  her  great  and 
closely-occupied  area  in  Memorial 
Hall,  hard  by,  indicates  the  wealth 
of  France  in  art.  She  is  largely 
represented,  moreover,  in  another 
outlying  province  of  the  same  do- 
main,— photography. 

Photographic  Hall,  an  offshoot 
from  Memorial  Hall,  and  lying  be- 
tween it  and  the  Main  Building,  is 
quite  a  solid  structure,  258  feet  by 
107,  with  19,000  feet  of  wall-space. 

Among  the   most  striking  and 
unique  buildings  is  the  "  World 's  Ticket  and  Inqttiry  Office"  of  Cook,  Son 
world-renowned  Tourist  and  Excursion  Managers,  shown  in  our  illustration, 
and  connections  of  this  firm  are  wonderful  r  no  matter  in  what  portion  of  the 
no  matter  what  the  language  may  be,  "  Cook's  Tickets 


SWEDISH  SCHOOL-HOUSE. 


&  Jenkins,  the 
The  enterprise 
civilized  earth, 
are  the  sure  guide  for  the  stranger. 
Their  combination  of  tickets  and 
excursions  as  displayed  at  their 
office,  both  for  the  United  States 
and  all  parts  of  the  world,  show  a 
very  thorough  system,  the  result  of 
35  years'  practical  experience. 

It  is  not  remarkable  in  this  age 
that  the  most  ambitious  effort  of 
monumental  art  upon  the  Exposition 
grounds  should  have  taken  the 
shape  of  a  fountain.  The  erection 
is  due  to  the  energy  and  public 
spirit  of  the  Catholic  Total  Absti- 
nence Union.  The  site  chosen  is  at 
the  extreme  western  end  of  Ma- 
chinery Hall.  It  looks  along  Foun- 
tain Avenue  to  the  Horticultural 
Building.  Mated  thus  with  that  fine 
building,  it  becomes  a  permanent 
feature  of  the  Park.  Other  foun- 
tains are  scattered  through  the  grounds,  but  they  are  of  comparatively  modest  proportions. 

Another  contribution  in  the  cause  of  art  is  the  statue,  in  bronze,  of  Dr.  Witherspoon,  the 
only  clerical  Signer,  which  stands  on  the  east  side  of  the  grounds. 
We  have  now  briefly  described  the  most  important  buildings  which  stand  out  prominently 


SPANISH  BUILDING. 


96 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


in  the  midst  of  a  host  of  structures  of  infinite  variety  of  size,  shape,  and  purpose,  among 
which  restaurants  of  various  nationalities  are  especially  noticeable.    But  in  a  work  necessarily 


,4- 


(il. K.MAN   lil'I  LDING. 


so  condensed  as  this  it  is  impossible  to  enumerate  all  of  these  structures,  and,  indeed,  we  doubt 
if  any  description  would  convey  an  adequate  impression  of  the  scene:  suffice  it  to  say  that 
they  notably  exceed  the  corresponding  array  at  any  of  the  European  Expositions.   The  accom- 


cook's  world's  ticket  and  inquiry  office. 


panying  plan  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  relative  positions  of  many  of  the  buildings, 
and  serve  as  a  guide  in  making  the  tour  of  the  grounds. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


97 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


In  the  previous  portion  of 
this  work  a  sketch  of  the  prin- 
cipal objects  of  interest  on  cer- 
tain main  streets  has  been  pre- 
sented ;  but  in  a  large  city  like 
Philadelphia  there  are  many- 
places  and  objects  away  from 
the  main  avenues  and  most 
frequented  parts,  so  scattered 
and  varied  in  character  that 
they  cannot  well  be  described 
in  any  systematic  order.  In 
the  following  pages  these  are 
enumerated,  including  many  of 
the  most  prominent  industrial 
establishments  which  form  such 
an  important  feature  in  the  in- 
terests of  this  city. 

Commencing  at  the  old  Navy 
Yard,  recently  purchased  from 
the  Government  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company 
for  one  million  dollars,  the 
points  along  the  D-elaware 
River  are  mentioned. 

The  huge  yet  elegant  build- 
ings of  the  Franklin  Sugar  Re- 
finery, at  Delaware  Avenue  and 
Almond  Street,  a  short  distance 
above  the  old  Navy  Yard,  form  a 
conspicuous  object,  and  cannot 
fail  to  attract  the  visitor's  atten- 
tion. 

As  might  be  supposed,  the 
Delaware,  with  its  broad  stream, 
deep  channel,  and  abrupt  bank, 
is  the  chosen  home  of  the  ship- 
ping interest,  while  the  Schuyl- 
kill is  still  waiting  for  the  time 
to  come  when  its  shores  will  be 
needed  to  relieve  the  eastern 
wharves ;  its  waters,  however, 
are  now  largely  employed  in 
the  shipment  of  petroleum. 

Above  the  old  Navy  Yard 
are  the  grain  wharves  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad,  with  a 
large  elevator  overlooking 


98 


them:  and 


from  these  to  Kensington  there  is  a  constant  succession  of  shipping  wharves,  many 

of  which  have  great  local  fame. 

Among  these  are  Spruce  Street 
wharf,  the  great  oyster  depot; 
Dock  Street  wharf,  famous  for 
peaches ;  Chestnut  and  Market, 
the  great  passenger  wharves,  where 
we  may  take  boats  up  or  down  the 
river  or  across  to  Camden  ;  Vine 
Street  wharf,  the  terminus  of  the 
Camden  and  Atlantic  Railroad, 
whence  in  summer-time  thousands 
depart  daily  for  a  run  down  to  the 
beach, 

"  To  cool  them  in  the  sea  :" 


Willow  Street  wharf,  which  is  one 
of  the  termini  of  the  Reading 
Railroad,  and  near  to  which  the 
extensive  freight  depots  of  the 
Reading  and  the  North  Penn- 
sylvania roads  stand  harmoniously 
side  by  side ;  and  Poplar  Street 
wharf,  with  its  huge  stacks  of 
lumber,  covering  acres  of  ground. 
One  of  the  most  extensive  of  these 
yards  is  represented  in  the  accom- 
panying view;  Smith  &  Harris's 
Lumber  Yard,  at  Coates  Street 
wharf,  is  also  shown. 

In  this  neighboihood,  at  Front 
and  Laurel  Streets,  stands  an 
imposing  monument  to  energy, 
industry,  and  perseverance.  The 
Keystone  Saw,  Tool,  Steel,  and 
File  Works  of  Henry  Disston  & 
Sons,  started  in  a  cellar  by  the 
senior  member  of  the  firm  some 
thirty-five  years  ago,  have  de- 
veloped into  the  establishment 
shown  in  our  illustration,  which 
covers  eight  acres  of  ground  with 
its  numerous  factories,  employing 
over  one  thousand  hands.  Here 
saws  of  every  description,  with 
their  component  parts,  also  tools, 
files,  etc.,  are  manufactured  at  the 
rate  of  five  tons  daily.  This  firm 
has  extensive  branch  works  at 
Tacony  and  a  branch  house  at 
Chicago,  and  mav  be  well  termed 


the  pioneer  factory  of  its  kind  in  America,  and  is  the  largest  saw  factory  in  the  world. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


99 


Kensington  is  the  head-quarters  of  the  shipbuilding  interest  in  the  city  proper ;  though  there 
are  first-class  yards,  turning  out  excellent  work,  at  Kaighn's  Point,  Chester,  Wilmington, 
and  other  points  on  the  Delaware,  all  of  which  come  properly  under  the  head  of  Philadelphia 
enterprises. 

All  these  yards  are  generally  busy,  the  amount  of  shipbuilding  done  on  the  Delaware 
forming  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  city's  industrial  showing.  The  firm  of  Wm.  Cramp 
&  Sons,  at  Kensington,  has  won  much  fame  by  the  amount  of  first-class  work  turned  out  from 
its  yards.    It  was  here  that  the  huge  iron  ships  of  the  American  Steamship  Company,  the  iron 


p  f  f  | 

ft  i#t 

IS 

if  ill  of 


mi 


FRANKLIN  SUGAR  REFINERY. 


colliers  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad  Company,  and  many  other  important  vessels 
were  built. 

The  labyrinthine  system  of  wharves  and  docks  at  Port  Richmond,  where  the  coal  from  the 
Schuylkill  mines  is  transhipped  from  the  cars  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad  to  the 
vessels  which  are  to  carry  it  still  farther  for  a  market,  is  just  above  this  point,  and  is  well 
shown  in  our  illustration.    This  is  a  busy,  animated,  and  interesting  scene. 

Philadelphia  hitherto  has  aspired  little  to  the  title  of  a  commercial  city,  but  has  been  con- 
tent with  being  the  largest  manufacturing  centre  in  the  United  States.  Now,  however,  active 
exertions  are  being  made  to  establish  a  commerce,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  their 
ultimate  success.    Already  the  house  of  William  P.  Clyde  &  Co.  has  lines  of  steamers  running 


IOO 


PHILADELPHIA  AXD  ITS  ENVIRONS* 


VIEW  OF  THE  POPLAR  STREET  LUMBER  WHARVES. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


101 


extensive ;  while  the  American  Steamship  Company  has  four  steamers  making  regular  trips  to 
Liverpool,  and  the  steamers  of  two  European 
lines  also  ply  regularly  to  this  port. 

Kensington  also  contains  many  important 
iron  works  and  other  manufacturing  establish- 
ments ;  but  the  locality  favored  by  the  heaviest 
workers  in  iron  is  that  formerly  known  as 
"Green  Hill,"  extending  from  Thirteenth  to 
Eighteenth  Streets,  on  the  line  of  the  Reading 
Railroad.  Here  are  the  Baldwin  Locomotive 
Works  before  mentioned,  the  Norris  Locomo- 
tive Works,  William  Sellers  &  Co.'s  Machine 
Tool  Works,  having  deservedly  a  world-wide 
reputation,  and  several  other  establishments 
whose  names  are  known  all  over  the  Union. 
And  at  Twenty-first  and  Callowhill,  still  in  the 
same  busy  region,  are  the  extensive  machine 
shops  of  William  B.  Bement  &  Son.  Several 
of  these  extensive  establishments  are  repre- 
sented among  our  engravings. 

When  we  say  that  the  values  of  Philadel- 
phia manufactures  average  a  respectable  total 
of  nearly  four  hundred  million  dollars  per 
•annum,  that  nine  thousand  mills,  foundries, 
and  factories  combine  to  produce  this  result> 
and  that  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  oper- 
atives, assisted  by  steam-engines  aggregating 
about  seventy- five  thousand  horse-power,  per- 
form the  labor,  the  reader  will  see  that  a  de- 
tailed account  of  the  manufactures  of  the  city 
is  scarcely  to  be  expected  in  a  work  of  this 
size  and  character. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  then,  that  iron  articles  of 
any  size  or  shape,  from  a  tack-hammer  to  a 
three-thousand-ton  steamer,  can  be  supplied  in 
any  quantity  by  the  manufactories  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

Other  industries  exist  in  equal  proportion. 
Manayunk,  on  the  Schuylkill,  is  alive  with 
paper-,  cotton-,  and  woolen  mills  ;  all  the  other 
suburbs  contain  large  industrial  works  ;  and, 
indeed,  the  whole  city  is  one  vast  workshop, 
in  which  the  visitor  can  spend  many  days 
pleasantly  and  profitably,  viewing  the  varied 
operations  of  all  the  departments  of  its  industry. 

We  present  a  view  of  one  of  the  laboratories 
of  Powers  &  Weightman,  the  leading  manufac- 
turers of  chemicals  in  the  country.  This  is 
situated  at  the  Falls  of  Schuylkill.  They  have 
another  extensive  establishment  at  Ninth  and 
Parrish  Streets,  in  the  city  proper. 

We  also  present  a  view  of  MacKellar,  Smiths  &  Jordan's  type-foundry,  the  oldest  existins 


11)2 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


type-foundry  in  the  United 
States,  as  well  as  one  of  the 
largest.  The  business  of  the  firm 
was  founded  in  1796,  by  Binny 
&  Ronaldson,  and  has  steadily 
grown  to  its  present  size  and 
importance.  Our  engraving 
gives  a  good  view  of  the  lower 
part  of  Sansom  Street,  with  In- 
dependence Square  in  the  back- 
ground. 

Cornelius  &  Sons'  establish- 
ment, the  largest  manufactory  of 
gas-fixtures  in  the  United  States, 
is  well  shown  in  our  cut.  This 
building  is  on  Cherry,  above 
Eighth,  and  is  one  of  the  many 
handsome  manufactories  which 
adorn  the  heart  of  the  city. 
This  firm  has  also  a  handsome 
store  on  Chestnut  Street,  below 
Broad. 

At  the  corner  of  Fifth  and 
Cherry  Streets  is  the  large  and 
imposing  factory  of  W.  H.  Horst- 
mann  &  Sons,  of  which  a  view  is 
presented.  Established  in  181 5, 
this  concern  has  for  years  been 
the  most  extensive  manufacturers 
of  military  and  society  goods, 
dress  and  upholstery  trimmings, 
etc.,  in  this  country. 

The  city  takes  good  care  of 
the  army  of  working-people  en- 
camped in  her  midst.  Not  only 
does  she  afford  them  comfortable 
homes  at  moderate  cost  to  an 
extent  unequaled  in  any  other 
city,  but  she  also  provides  liber- 
ally for  their  comfort  when  sick, 
for  their  mental  improvement 
when  in  health,  for  their  recrea- 
tion when  at  leisure,  and  for  their 
children  at  all  times. 

The  oldest  and  most  important 
of  the  hospitals  of  the  city  is  the 
Pennsylvania  Hospital,  which 
was  founded  in  1750.  It  is  lo- 
cated in  the  square  bounded  by 
Eighth,  Ninth,  Spruce,  and  Pine 
Streets,  and  may  be  visited  after 
10  a.m.  on  any  day  except  Sat- 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


VIEW  ON  THE  DELAWARE— A  CLYDE  STEAMSHIP. 


urday  and  Sunday.  Another  similar  institution  is  the  Episcopal  Hospital,  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  city. 

The  city  Almshouse  is  on  the  west  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  nearly  opposite  the  Naval 
Asylum,  and  is  reached  by  the  Walnut  Street  cars.    The  grounds  contain  179  acres,  and  the 


VIEW  OF  THE  SCHUYLKILL  AT  THE  FALLS. 


io4 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


estimated  value  of  the  property  is  about  $3,000,000.    The  buildings  themselves  occupy  about 

ten  acres,  and  will  accommodate 
conveniently  3000  inmates. 

The  United  States  Naval  Asylum 
is  on  Gray's  Ferry  Road,  below 
South  Street.  It  is  a  beautiful 
place,  and  forms  a  snug  harbor 
for  the  gallant  seamen  who  have 
grown  old  and  feeble  in  their 
country's  service. 

The  Wills  Eye  Hospital,  on  Race 
Street,  opposite  Logan  Square,  is 
a  finely  situated  charity,  which 
docs  a  great  deal  of  good  in  an 
unobtrusive  way. 

For  the  establishment  of  (iirard 
College,  a  work  magnificent  alike 
in  purpose,  plan,  and  execution, 
Philadelphia  is  indebted,  as  for  so 
many  other  benefits,  to  Stephen 
Girard. 

This  eccentric  but  benevolent 
man  made  provision  in  his  will 
for  the  erection  of  a  college  which 
should  accommodate  not  less  than 
three  hundred  children,  who  must 
be  poor,  white,  male  orphans,  be- 
tween the  ages  of  six  and  ten 
years.  For  the  site  of  the  college, 
Mr.  Girard  bequeathed  an  estate 
of  forty-five  acres,  called  Peel 
Hall,  situated  on  the  Ridge  Road, 
about  a  mile  from  its  junction  with 
Ninth  and  Vine  Streets;  and  here 
the  buildings  were  erected,  the  sum 
of  two  million  dollars  having  been 
provided  by  the  founder  for  the 
establishment  and  support  of  the 
institution.  The  capacity  of  the 
present  buildings  is  five  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  that  is  about  the 
number  of  the  inmates  now. 

The  College  proper  is  justly 
celebrated  as  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  structures  of  modern 
times,  as  well  as  the  purest  speci- 
men of  Grecian  architecture  in 
America.  It  has  been  so  often 
described  that  we  deem  it  un- 
necessary to  give  more  than  a 
pictorial  sketch  of  it.  The  monu- 
1869  to  commemorate  those  of  the 


 ;  .  .  :■  .. 


ment,  of  which  we  give  an  illustration,  was  erected 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


It  by 


College  graduates  who  fell  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 
W.  Struthers  &  Son,  the  largest 
dealers  in  worked  marble  in  the  city. 
Visitors  will  procure  tickets  of  ad- 
mission at  the  Ledger  office,  and 
take  the  Ridge  Avenue  cars. 

Philadelphia  has  supplemented 
her  admirable  educational  system 
by  establishing  a  number  of  excel- 
lent public  libraries,  only  one  of 
which,  however,  the  Apprentices' 
Library,  at  Fifth  and  Arch,  is  en- 
tirely free  to  its  patrons.  Of  the 
others,  the  handsomest  building  is 
that  containing  the  Mercantile  Li- 
brary, on  Tenth  Street,  between 
Chestnut  and  Market. 

We  present  a  view  of  the  Cathe- 
dral of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  on 
Eighteenth  Street,  opposite  Logan 
Square.  The  corner-stone  of  this 
magnificent  building,  the  finest  Cath- 
olic church  in  the  city,  and  up  to  the 
present  date  the  finest  in  the  United 
States,  was  laid  by  the  Right  Rev. 
F.  P.  Kenrick,  September  6,  1846, 
and  it  was  opened  for  divine  service 
November,  1864.  The  edifice  is 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  front, 
two  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  deep, 
and  two  hundred  and  ten  feet  in 
total  height.  The  interior  of  the 
building  is  cruciform,  and  is  de- 
signed in  the  most  elaborate  Roman- 
Corinthian  style. 

Logan  Square,  opposite  which  the 
Cathedral  stands,  is  surrounded 
with  fine  dwellings,  and  bears  the 
same  relation  to  this  part  of  the  city 
as  Rittenhouse  Square  does  to  the 
southern  portion. 

The  seminary  of  St.  Charles  Bor- 
romeo,  near  Overbrook  Station,  on 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  about 
five  miles  from  the  city,  is  for  the 
instruction  of  those  who  intend  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  ministry 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
the  diocese  of  Philadelphia.  Its 
architecture  is  of  the  Italian  order. 

We  also  present  a  view  of  the  Central  Congregational  Church,  at  Eighteenth  and  Green 
Streets,  a  new  and  handsome  edifice,  the  architecture  of  which  is  in  the  late  Norman  style. 


io6 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


For  the  protection  of  the  honest  portion  of  the  community,  it  has  always  been  found  n< n  I -s- 
sary  to  place  restraints  upon  the  wicked  ;  and  there  arc  in  Philadelphia  several  illustrations  of 
what  is  frequently  extolled  as  "the  admirable  prison  system  of  Pennsylvania." 

The  Eastern  Penitentiary,  to  which  convicts  are  sent  from  the  eastern  counties  of  the  State, 
is  on  Coatcs  Street,  near  Twenty-second.  The  "separate"  [not  solitary)  system  of  confine- 
ment is  adopted  here,  but  is  modified  to  the  extent  of  confining  two  prisoners  in  each  of  the 


SAXSOM  STREET  AXD  IXDEPEXDEXCE  SQUARE. 

larger  cells  whenever  the  crowded  state  of  the  prison  renders  it  necessary.  Each  prisoner  is 
furnished  with  work  enough  to  keep  him  moderately  busy,  and  is  permitted  to  earn  money 
for  himself  by  overwork.  He  is  allowed  to  see  and  converse  with  the  chaplain,  prison- 
inspectors,  and  other  officials,  and  an  occasional  visitor,  but  not  with  any  of  his  fellow- 
prisoners.  The  advantages  claimed  for  this  system  are  that  convicts  have  leisure  and 
opportunity  for  reflection  and  for  the  formation  of  steady  and  correct  habits,  and  are  not  in 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS.  107 


CHERRY  STREET,  ABOVE  EIGHTH. 


danger,  when  set  free,  of  meeting  other  prisoners  who  can  identify  them  and  thus  obtain  a 
fearful  influence  over  them. 


FIFTH  AND  CHERRY  STREETS— HORSTMANN'S  BUILDING. 


108  PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


THE  PENNSYLVANIA  HOSPITAL. 


The  grounds  connected  with  this  prison  cover  about  eleven  acres,  nearly  all  of  which  space 
is  covered  with  buildings,  the  whole  being  surrounded  with  a  stone  wall  thirty  feet  high.  The 
plan  of  the  buildings  may  be  compared  to  a  star  with  seven  rays,  there  being  a  central  hall 
with  seven  corridors  running  from  it,  so  arranged  that  the  warden,  sitting  in  the  centre,  has 
the  whole  length  of  each  corridor  under  his  eye. 

Permits  to  visit  any  of  the  prisons  in  the  city  can  be  obtained  at  the  Ledger  office.  Visitors 
to  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  will  take  the  Green  and  Coates  Streets  cars  (running  out  Eighth 
Street),  or  the  yellow  cars  of  the  Union  line,  running  out  Ninth 'and  up  Spring  Garden. 


VIEW  OF  THE  SCHUYLKILL  RIVER  AND  BLOCKLEY  ALMSHOUSE. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


The  Eastern  Penitentiary  is  frequently  called  "  Cherry  Hill,"  from  the  former  name  of  its 
site ;  and  for  the  same  reason  the  County  Prison,  at  Tenth  and  Passyunk  Avenue,  is  generally 
known  as  "  Moyamensing."  Visitors  to  this  prison  will  take  cars  on  Tenth  or  Twelfth  Street, 
or  the  green  cars  of  the  Union  line,  on  Seventh  Street. 

The  House  of  Refuge,  for  juvenile  offenders,  is  on  Twenty-second  Street,  near  Poplar. 


soldiers'  monument  at  girard  college. 


Visitors  are  admitted  every  afternoon,  except  Saturday  and  Sunday.  Take  the  Green  and 
Coates,  Poplar  Street,  or  Ridge  Avenue  cars, — the  last  running  up  Arch  to  Ninth  and  out 
Ninth  to  Ridge  Avenue.  The  green  and  red  cars  of  the  Union  line,  running  out  Ninth  Street, 
connect  with  the  Poplar  Street  line,  and  passengers  ride  through  for  one  fare. 

The  new  House  of  Correction,  recently  built  near  Holmesburg,  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  city,  is  shown  in  our  illustration.    This  building  is  to  contain  two  thousand  cells,  and  its 


PHILADELPHIA   A XI)  ITS  KXl'IROXS. 


erection  is  contracted  for  by  R.  J.  Dobbins,  the  eminent  builder,  for  the  sum  of  one  million 
dollars. 


CilRARD  COLLEGE. 


The  green  cars  of  the  Union  line,  running  out  Ninth  Street,  and  the  red  cars  of  the  Second 
and  Third  Streets  line,  running  out  Third  Street,  both  convey  passengers  to  Richmond,  where 
the  coal  wharves  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad  are  situated. 


THE  MERCANTILE  LIBRARY 


The  Germantown  Railroad  will  carry  the  visitor  in  a  few  minutes  to  two  of  the  most  delight- 
ful suburbs  of  which  the  city  can  boast.    These  are  Germantown  and  Chestnut  Hill,  both 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


1 1  r 


filled  with  beautiful  country-seats,  and  rendered  doubly  interesting  by  historical  associations. 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  THE  MERCANTILE  LIBRARY. 


We  regret  that  we  have  not  space  to  enumerate  their  most  prominent  points  of  interest ;  but 
all  we  can  do  is  to  recommend  the  stranger  to  make  the  visit  for  himself.   We  present, 


SEMINARY  OF  ST.  CHARLES  BORROMEO. 


however,  as  a  specimen  of  the  architecture  in  this  part  of  the  city,  a  view  of  the  residence 
of  Thomas  MacKellar,  at  Germantown.    The  "Old  York  Road,"  too,  running  through 


112 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


the  northwestern  part  of  the  city,  passes  through  a  beautiful  rolling  country  studded  with 
elegant  country-seats,  of  which  one  of  the  finest — that  of  R.  J.  Dobbins — is  shown  in  our 
illustration. 

Once  an  hour  a  car  starts  from  the  depot  of  the  Second  and  Third  Streets  line  at  Richmond, 
and  runs  to  Bridesburg.  The  ride  from  Richmond  to  Bridcsburg  is  made  in  forty  minutes, 
the  route  lying  through  a  pleasant  country,  filled  with  country-seats  and  small  farms,  and 
having  the  Delaware  for  a  boundary  the  entire  distance.    The  car  stops  within  a  short  dis- 


CATHEDRAL  OF  ST.  PETER  AND  ST.  PAUL. 


tance  of  the  Frankford  Arsenal,  belonging  to  the  United  States  Government.  It  is  open  to 
visitors  during  the  day ;  but  it  is  best  to  visit  it  during  the  forenoon,  as  the  shops  close  at 
4  p.m.,  and  the  length  of  time  consumed  in  reaching  it  leaves  a  very  small  margin  for  sight- 
seeing in  the  afternoon. 

The  visitor  crosses  a  little  bridge,  over  Frankford  Creek,  the  boundary-line  between 
Bridesburg  and  Frankford,  walks  up  a  well-paved  sidewalk  along  the  wall  of  the  Arsenal, 
and  a  polite  officer  on  duty  at  the  gate  directs  him  to  the  office,  where  a  pass  to  visit  the 
shops  is  given  him.    The  grounds  are  open,  and  he  may  wander  at  will  along  the  paths. 


"3 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


CENTRAL 


KURCH. 


up  like  stone  fences  on  New 
England  farms,  with  a  solitary 
sentinel  pacing  his  beat,  and  the 
stars  and  stripes  floating  overhead, 
are  the  only  things  that  suggest  the 
warlike  uses  of  the  place.  The 
shops  are  devoted  solely  to  the 
manufacture  of  fixed  ammunition 
all  the  cartridges  used  by  the  United 
States  army  are  made  here,  and,  as 
may  be  supposed,  the  late  war- 
taxed  the  energies  of  the  labora- 
tories to  their  utmost  capacity. 
During  the  height  of  the  war,  work 
in  these  shops  never  stopped. 
Night  and  day,  Sundays  and  holi- 
days, it  went  on,  the  demand  con- 
stantly increasing,  until  Lee's 
surrender  stopped  midway  the 
erection  of  an  additional  building 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS.  "5 


A  RESIDENCE  AT  CHELTON  HILLS,  ON  THE  "OLD  YORK  ROAD. 

calculated  to  turn  out  one  million  cartridges  a  day.    That  building  is  finished  now,  and  ready 

for  the  next  call.  a  *u 

The  manufacture  of  cartridges  is  an  interesting  process,  and  well  worth  seeing,  and  the 

visitor  will  scarcely  regret  the  five-mile  ride  required  to  visit  the  Arsenal. 

In  this  vicinity  the  visitor's  eye  will  be  attracted  by  the  tall  chimney  of  the  Bndesburg 


WORKS  OF  THE  BRIDESBURG  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY. 


n6 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


Manufacturing  Company's  Works,  an  establishment  celebrated  for  cotton  and  woolen  ma- 
chinery,  but  diverted  during  the  war  from  this  peaceful  business  to  the  manufacture  of  guns 
and  other  warlike  weapons. 

Another  United  States  Arsenal  is  situated  near  the  Naval  Asylum,  on  Gray's  Ferry  Road. 
This  is  devoted  to  the  manufacture  of  shoes,  clothing,  etc.  It  is  reached  by  the  cars  of  the 
Spruce  and  Pine  and  Lombard  and  South  Streets  railways,  and  just  beyond  it  are  the  exten- 
sive buildings  of  the  Harrison  Boiler  Works. 


VIEW   OF   THE  CITY  SOUTHEAST  FROM  FAIRMOUNT  BASIN. 


To  secure  a  bird's-eye  view  of  much  that  has  been  described  in  this  book,  we  would  suggest 
that  the  city  be  viewed  from  the  steeple  of  Independence  Hall,  the  top  of  Girard  College,  and 
the  Fairmount  basin. 

In  the  foreground  of  the  accompanying  view  of  the  city  from  Fairmount  basin  stand  the 
extensive  works  of  S.  B.  &  M.  Fleisher,  the  manufacturers  of  the  celebrated  "Star"  Alpaca 
Braids. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


IT7 


PLACES    OF  INTEREST. 


Academy  of  Fine  Arts — Broad  and  Cherry. 

Academy  of  Natural  Sciences— Nineteenth  and 
Race.  Open  Tuesday  and  Friday  afternoons.  Ad- 
mission, 10  cents. 

American  Philosophical  Society — Fifth,  below 
Chestnut. 

Apprentices'  Library — Southwest  corner  Fifth  and 
Arch. 

Athen^UM — Sixth  and  Adelphi,  below  Walnut. 

Blind  Asylum — Twentieth  and  Race.  Admission  to 
Wednesday  afternoon  concerts,  15  cents. 

BLOCKLEY  ALMSHOUSE — West  Philadelphia.  Take 
Walnut  Street  cars  to  Thirty-fourth  Street.  Tickets 
at  42  North  Seventh  Street. 

Carpenters'  Hall — Chestnut,  below  Fourth. 

Christ  Church— Second,  above  Market. 

Commercial  Exchange — Second,  below  Chestnut. 

County  Prison,  or  "  Moyamensing" — Eleventh  and 
Passyunk  Road.    Tickets  at  Ledger  office. 

CUSTOM-HOUSE— Chestnut,  above  Fourth. 

Eastern  Penitentiary — Fairmount  Ave.  above 
22d.  Tickets  at  Ledger  office.  Take  cars  out  Fair- 
mount  Ave.,  or  Fairmount  cars  of  the  Union  line. 

Episcopal  Hospital— 2649  North  Front  Street. 

Frankford  Arsenal— Frankford.  Take  Richmond 
horse-cars. 

Franklin  Institute— Seventh,  above  Chestnut. 
Franklin's   Grave  —  Southeast  corner  Fifth  and 
Arch. 

Girard  COLLEGE — Ridge  Avenue,  above  Nineteenth 

Street.     Tickets   at   Ledger  office.    Take  Ridge 

Avenue  or  Nineteenth  Street  cars. 
Historical  Society  of  Pa.— 820  Spruce  Street. 
House  of  Correction — Holmesburg. 
House  of  Refuge— Twenty-second,  near  Poplar. 

Admission  every  afternoon,  except  Saturday  and 

Sunday.   Tickets  at  Ledger  office.   Take  Fairmount 

cars  of  Union  line. 
"  HULTSHEIMER'S  New  House"— Southwest  corner 

Seventh  and  Market. 
Independence  Hall— Chestnut,  between  Fifth  and 

Sixth.    Open  from  8  A.M.  until  10  P.M.  during 

1876. 

Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb— Broad 
and  Pine.  Exhibitions  Thursday  afternoons.  Tickets 
at  Ledger  office. 

Laurel  Hill  Cemetery— Ridge  Avenue.  Take 
Ridge  Avenue  cars. 

League  Island— Foot  of  Broad  Street. 

Ledger  Building — Sixth  and  Chestnut. 

Admission  to  the  above,  free, 


LONDON  COFFEE-HOUSE— Southwest  corner  Front 
and  Market. 

Masonic  Hall  (old)— 710  Chestnut;  (new)  Broad, 

below  Arch. 
Mayor's  Office — Fifth  and  Chestnut. 
Mercantile  Library — Tenth,  above  Chestnut. 
Merchants'  Exchange — Third  and  Walnut. 
Monument    Cemetery  —  Broad    Street,  opposite 

Berks. 

Mount  Vernon  Cemetery— Nearly  opposite  Laurel 
Hill. 

Northern  Home  for  Friendless  Children— 

Twenty-third  and  Brown.    Take  Union  line  of  cars 

out  Ninth  Street  (Fairmount  Branch). 
OLD    Swedes'    CHURCH — Swanson    Street,  below- 
Christian.   Take  Second  Street  cars.   The  old  Navy 

Yard  is  in  this  vicinity. 
Penn  Treaty  Monument— Beach  Street,  above 

Hanover.     Take  street-cars  marked  "  Richmond." 

The  same  cars  pass  the  extensive  coal  wharves  of 

the  Reading  Railroad,  at  Richmond. 
Penn's  Cottage— Letitia  Street,  between  Front  and 

Second,  near  Market. 
Pennsylvania  Hospital— Eighth  and  Spruce. 
Pennsylvania  Hospital  for  the  Insane—  Hav- 

erford  Road,  West  Philadelphia.   Tickets  at  Ledger 

office.    Take  Market  Street  cars. 
Philadelphia  Dispensary  (oldest  institution  of 

the  kind  in  America,  having  been  established  in 

1786)— 127  South  Fifth  Street. 
Philadelphia  Library  and  Loganian  Library 

— Fifth,  below  Chestnut. 
Post  Office  (old)  Chestnut,  below  Fifth;  (new) 

Ninth  and  Chestnut. 
School  of  Design  for  Women — Northwest  Penn 

Square. 

Union  League  House — Broad  and  Sansom.  Vis- 
itors admitted  on  being  introduced  by  a  member  of 
the  League. 

United  States  Mint — Chestnut,  above  Thirteenth. 
Admission  from  9  to  12  A.M.,  daily,  except  Saturday 
and  Sunday. 

United  States  Naval  Asylum— Gray's  Ferry 
Road,  below  South.  Take  cars  out  Pine  or  South 
Streets. 

University  of  Pennsylvania — Thirty-sixth  and 
Darby  Road. 

Woodland  Cemetery — Darby  Road,  West  Phila- 
delphia. Take  Darby  cars,  or  Walnut  Street  cars 
to  Thirty-ninth  Street. 

except  where  otherwise  stated. 


1 18 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  IIS  ENVIRONS. 


PLACES    OF  AMUSEMENT. 


Academy  of  Music— Broad  and  Locust. 
Arch  Street  Opera  House— Arch,  above  Tenth. 
Arch  Street  Theatre— Arch,  above  Sixth. 
Chestnut    Street    Theatre— Chestnut,  above 
Twelfth. 

Colosseum — Broad  and  Locust. 
Concert  Hall— Chestnut,  above  Twelfth. 
Eleventh  Street  Opera  House— Eleventh,  above 
Chestnut. 

Enoch  s  Variety  Theatre— Seventh,  below  Arch. 


Fox's  American  Theatre— Chestnut,  above  Tenth. 
Grand  Central  Theatre— Walnut,  above  Eighth. 
Horticultural  Hall— Broad,  below  Locust. 
Kiralfy   Alhamhra    Palace  Garden— Broad. 

below  Locust. 
Museum— Ninth  and  Arch. 
Musical  Fund  Hall— Locust,  below  Ninth. 
National  Theatre — Tenth  and  Callowhill. 
Thomas's  Orchestra— Broad  and  Master. 
Walnut  Street  Theatre— Ninth  and  Walnut. 


RAILROAD  DEPOTS. 


Camden  and  Atlantic  Railroad — Vine  Street 
Ferry. 

North    Pennsylvania    Railroad  —  Berks  and 

American  Streets,  above  Second. 
Pennsylvania  Central  Railroad— Thirty-first 

and  Market,  Kensington,  and  Market  Street  Ferry. 


Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad— Thir- 
teenth and  Callowhill ;  German/own  and  Norris/,'-u  r/ 
Branch,  Ninth  and  Green. 

Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore 
Railroad — Broad  and  Washington  Avenue. 

West  Chester  and  Philadelphia  Railroad— 
I     Thirty-first  and  Chestnut. 


ii9 


BLOOMSDALE, 

Great,  and  varied  to  an  extent  almost  unexampled  elsewhere,  are  the  natural  resources 
and  industrial  interests  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  mineral  and  other  deposits  none  can  compare  with  her ;  in  the  mechanism  and  skill 
which  converts  her  ores  from  their  crude  condition  into  the  ponderous,  delicate,  or  minute 
forms  useful  to  man,  her  sons  are  not  excelled  within  or  without  the  Union. 

The  ingenuity  of  Pennsylvania  artisans  is,  in  every  branch  of  industry,  almost  world-wide ; 
her  locomotives  traverse  every  road  in  Europe,  and  her  iron  ships,  afloat  and  being  built 
.  (a  comparatively  new  outlet  for  her  enterprise  making  the  Delaware  the  rival  of  the  Clyde), 
are  destined  to  spread  her  fame  wherever  American  commerce  reaches.  In  view  of  such 
well-earned  reputation,  with  such  mechanical  and  artistic  record,  how  fitting  it  is  her  tillage, 
on  which  commerce,  manufactures,  and  industry  of  every  kind  repose,  should  be  esteemed 
noteworthy.  It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  her  fertile  soil,  her  intelligent  husbandmen,  her 
crops,  and  flocks,  and  herds  may  be  referred  to  as  justly  entitled  to  high  discriminating  praise. 
It  is  true  we  have  not  within  our  borders  broad  prairies  like  unto  those  of  the  Far  West,  nor  its 
unctuous  soil  which  knows  no  depth,  and  ever  yields  without  exhaustion  of  fertility.  We  glory 
in  the  natural  wealth  of  our  sister  States — their  prosperity  is  ours  as  well ;  but  in  our  mines  of 
coal,  and  iron,  and  other  minerals,  in  our  ceaseless  flow  of  oil,  nature  has  dealt  kindly  by  us 
also.  The  gold  of  California,  the  cotton  of  the  South,  the  sugar  of  Louisiana  and  Texas,  the 
silks  and  other  fibres  of  the  world,  the  spices  and  coffees  of  the  tropics,  the  highest  mechanism 
of  Europe,  its  best  efforts  in  the  useful  and  fine  arts,  are  all  at  our  command ;  we  have  only 
to  stretch  forth  our  hands  and  grasp  what  has  been  so  bountifully  placed  within  our  reach  ; 
what  has  been  denied  us  in  nature's  profuse  scattering  we  have  gained  by  thoughtful,  well- 
directed  efforts  in  the  rotation  of  crops,  in  the  application  of  appropriate  fertilizers,  and  other 
means  intelligently  directed  to  a  desired  end,  until  "  Pennsylvania  Agriculture"  has  become 
simply  another  term  for  high-farming  and  successful  tillage,  whilst  those  who,  resident  at  distant 
points,  seek  the  best,  whether  it  be  the  fine  strains  of  animals  which  graze  its  rich  pastures,  or 
the  seeds  of  grasses,  cereals,  or  vegetables,  bend  their  steps  hitherward,  and  never  go  empty 
away. 

On  the  Delaware,  a  few  miles  above  Philadelphia,  and  adjoining  that  fertile  tract  known  as 
Penn's  Manor,  a  wise  and  discriminating  reservation  of  the  proprietary  Governor,  is  Blooms- 
dale,  which  we  have  selected  as  illustrative  of  the  rural  industry  of  Pennsylvania.  This 
estate,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  has  contributed,  in  an  especially  large  degree,  to  the  public 
good,  by  its  products  and  by  its  eminent  example  also.  Bloomsdale  may  be  assumed  a  model 
of  intelligent  industry,  systematic  culture,  and  rural  progress.    It  embraces  within  its  bound- 

\ 


I2C 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS. 


aries,  independent  of  outlying  lands,  five  hundred  acres  devoted 
to  the  culture  and  product  of  seeds,  known  in  every  hamlet, 
almost  on  every  farm-hold  and  country  homestead,  as  "  Land- 
reth's," — known  almost  equally  well  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri, 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  Ganges, — for  it  should  be  stated,  to  the 
business  credit  and  reputation  of  the  firm,  that  for  three  generations 
Landreth's  Seeds  have  been  annually  shipped  to  India,  and  are 
preferred  by  Englishmen  resident  in  Hindostan  to  the  seeds  of 
their  own  native  land,  our  climate  ripening  them  better  than  the  humid  air  of  England. 

It  is  the  modest  motto  of  the  proprietors  of  Bloomsdale  that  "  Landreth's  Seeds  speak  their 
own  praise."  They  certainly  cannot  have  done  so  with  feeble  voice,  for  not  only  are  those 
broad  acres  taxed  to  their  utmost  productive  power,  but  nearly  approaching  one  thousand 
other  acres  in  addition,  owned,  occupied,  and  cultivated  by  the  firm,  are  devoted  to  seed- 
culture  ;  by  this  it  is  not  intended  to  designate  lands  simply  tributary,  tilled  by  their  owners 
who  raise  crops  on  contract,  without  direct  control  of  those  who  have  bargained  for  the  pro- 
duct (as  it  is  the  custom  with  seed-merchants  thus  to  obtain  supplies),  but  immediate,  active, 
personal  care  and  supervision.  Thus  an  idea  may  be  conceived,  though  necessarily  imper- 
fect, of  the  activity  of  mind  and  energy  called  forth  by  such  extended  operations  ;  but  system 
and  order  are  ever  triumphant,  and  in  the  case  in  point  the  adage  is  aptly  illustrated.  With 
increased  acreage  has  come  increased  reputation,  and  Pennsylvania  may  claim  the  credit,  not 
a  slight  one  we  opine,  of  having  conducted  within  her  borders  a  seed  trade  larger  than  exists 
elsewhere  (if  lands  be  taken  as  the  measure),  not  alone  within  the  Union,  but  without  as  well. 
Europe,  travelers  assert,  can  exhibit  nothing  of  like  extent.  This  is  no  idle  boast,  made  in 
the  interest  of  private  enterprise  or  pride  of  commonwealth. 

Independent  of  the  numerous  workmen  employed  on  the  estate, — many  of  whom  have  been 
life-long  attaches  of  the  establishment,  occupying  cottages  on  the  premises,  and  as  much  at 
home  as  the  proprietors  themselves — a  pleasing  feature  which  it  were  well  to  imitate, — there 
are  three  steam-engines  for  thrashing,  winnowing,  and  cleaning  seeds,  grinding  feed,  etc. ;  a 
"caloric"  for  pumping;  and  an  admirably  well-adjusted  steaming  apparatus  for  preparing 
food  for  the  working-stock.  Rut  it  may  be  still  more  worthy  of  note  that,  for  a  term 
protracted  through  several  years,  energetic  experiments  in  ploughing  by  steam  have  been 
conducted  by  the  Messrs.  Landreth  at  Bloomsdale,  using  the  direct  traction-engine  of 
Williamson,  with  Thomson's  India-rubber  tire.  At  first,  and  for  months,  great  hope  of  success 
was  entertained  ;  but  unforeseen  difficulties  in  the  way  of  direct  traction  exhibited  themselves. 
At  present  the  purpose  is  to  adopt  the  "  Rope  System,"  as  successfully  practiced  in  England, 
using  the  Williamson  engine  as  the  motive  power.  It  is  simply  right  'to  chronicle  their  efforts 
in  this  direction.  As  the  early  efforts  in  river  and  ocean  navigation  are  referred  to  with  ever- 
increasing  interest  as  progress  is  made  in  that  direction,  so  will  in  the  future  be  those  of 
tillage  by  steam,  and  our  State  is  entitled  to  its  due  share  of  praise  with  respect  to  land,  as  it 
unquestionably  is  to  Fitch's  exertions  in  steam  navigation. 

Limited  space  prohibits  many  of  the  details  of  the  operations  at  Bloomsdale,  which  we 
would  gladly  give  our  readers ;  the  sketch  annexed  may,  however,  convey  some  idea  of  the 
extent  of  the  structures  required  for  the  storage,  drying,  and  preservation  of  crops,  and  other- 
wise successful  prosecution  of  the  peculiar  business  there  conducted,  w7hich  is  a  credit  to  the 
proprietors,  the  successors  of  those  who  founded  the  business  in  1784,  and  which  may  be 
classed  as  prominent  among  the  many  industrial  enterprises  of  Pennsylvania. 


